ILOILO City – The city government is swabbing all village heads of the metro’s 180 barangays for possible coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection.
Barangay officials are indispensable in the fight against the infectious disease, according to Mayor Jerry Treñas.
He wanted not only to ensure the welfare of these barangay frontliners and their families but also to stop the transmission of COVID-19.
“We want to make sure they are safe because they are the ones taking care of our barangays,” said Treñas.
Over the weekend, Barangay Captain Myrna Espinosa of Infante in Molo district passed away. She showed symptoms similar to COVID-19.
“It is unfortunate that we lost her,” said Treñas.
The city’s chief executive vowed to be more proactive.
He said the first batch to be swabbed yesterday for COVID-19 tests were barangay captains of Molo and Mandurriao districts.
Barangay captains of La Paz, Lapuz and Arevalo districts are scheduled of swabbing today. Wednesday is the turn of barangay captains of the City Proper and Thursday will be for those from Jaro district.
Treñas also disclosed that two more barangay captains, who are also COVID-19 suspected cases, are on hospital or facility quarantine. Their reverse transmission polymerase chain reaction test results were yet to be released as of this writing.
According Treñas, one barangay captain was hospitalized while another was isolated in a quarantine facility in Jaro./PN
