ILOILO – Fifteen more employees of Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co., Ltd. in Calinog town tested positive for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), bringing the facility’s total number of infections to 42.
According to Dr. Cesarey Mestidio, head of the Calinog Municipal Health Office (MHO), the latest infections were all Filipinos. They were brought to the town’s quarantine facility.
“These 15 employees were part of the 50 close contacts nga ginpaidalom naton sa swab testing last Wednesday,” Mestidio told Panay News.
On Thursday, another 50 close contacts also underwent swabbing.
To note, at least 400 close contacts have been identified after 27 staff initially tested positive for the virus.
Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co., Ltd. is the contractor of the P11.2-billion Jalaur River Multipurpose Project – Stage II (JRMP II) in Calinog.
Mayor Francisco Calvo ordered the temporary closure of the facility “effective April 15 until April 28 or until further notice” to give way to aggressive contact tracing and disinfection.
“It is feared that, given their daily activity, transmission has been ongoing for some time now,” Calvo earlier said.
The mayor ordered that all entry points towards the Daewoo office be closed, including those located in barangays Alibunan, Banban Pequeño and Agcalaga.
Calvo also reminded the people to always observe minimum health protocols such as proper hand washing, wearing of facemask and face shield and social distancing, among others./PN
