ILOILO City – Twelve personnel of the Department of Tourism (DOT) in Regional 6 tested positive for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
The infected employees – mostly asymptomatic or had mild symptoms – were already isolated, DOT-6 said in a public advisory.
It also indefinitely closed its office at Casa Real de Iloilo, the old Iloilo provincial capitol building.
“Our transacting public can still reach us through the email address posted on the DOT Western Visayas Facebook page,” the regional office’s advisory further read.
Meanwhile, according to Mayor Jerry Treñas, only few of the infected DOT-6 employees were residents of the city. Most of them were from the various towns in Iloilo province.
Treñas said the city already coordinated with the provincial government. Contact tracing was also launched.
For the infected employees who were city residents, Treñas said at least 28 close contacts were swabbed yesterday.
DOT-6 thanked Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. and Treñas for their immediate assistance./PN
