ILOILO – Four employees – three females and one male – of the local government unit (LGU) of the municipality of Lemery who were initially found positive of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in a rapid diagnostic test were now cleared from the infection.
“Malipayon namon nga gina-anunsyo sa tanan nga negative ang ila results,” Mayor Oscar “Embong” Villegas said, adding the four yielded negative results in the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test for COVID-19.
They were tested positive for a rapid test on June 10 and underwent a confirmatory testing on the following day.
Villegas said the four employees were immediately subjected to the more reliable RT-PCR for further verification because rapid COVID test results are deemed inconclusive.
He considered the results as a triumph for Lemery in its continued fight against the virus.
The town mayor said two of them were job hires while two were permanent personnel.
They were among the 200 municipal employees, as well as police and Bureau of Fire Protection personnel, tested by the local government unit.
Villegas said they had not traveled outside the town and had no contact with any suspected COVID-19 case.
Villegas added the town remained free from COVID-19. However, he appealed to his constituents to remain calm and observe health safety protocols such as wearing facemask, observing physical distancing and hand washing./PN
