ILOILO City – With 15 confirmed cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the City Treasurer’s Office (CTO) was placed on lockdown beginning yesterday morning.
Eight more CTO personnel contracted the infectious disease from the initial seven last week, according to Mayor Jerry Treñas.
These additional cases were all close contacts of the infected staff.
Other employees who got exposed to the COVID-19 positives had their specimens collected for testing.
Treñas has disallowed employees to report to work unless their reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction test result is negative for the viral illness.
The city government’s next steps, according to Treñas, would depend on their test results.
He advised CTO clients, especially taxpayers, to wait.
“Mahulat-hulat kamo anay kay madasig naman ang pagwa sang swab results,” Treñas said
As of this writing, the city is expecting the results of swab tests to be released.
“May mga nag-positive nga malapit gid sa akon. But there’’s nothing we can do. We go on understanding nga there’s always a possibility nga ikaw, ako, kita tanan mag-positive,” the mayor said.
Meanwhile, all other offices or departments at the city hall remain in operation.
COVID-19 spreads from person to person through small droplets from the nose or mouth which are spread when a person with COVID-19 coughs or exhales.
These droplets also land on objects and surfaces around the person. Other people then catch COVID-19 by touching these objects or surfaces, then touching their eyes, nose or mouth.
For the safety of both employees and clients, City Treasurer Jinny Hermano said they are strictly following health protocols.
Aside from requiring their personnel to wear facemask and face shield, Hermano said they also put up plastic separators inside their office./PN
