ILOILO – Twelve employees of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) 3rd Engineering District Office in Barangay Puerto Princesa, Barotac Viejo, Iloilo tested positive for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Speaking to Panay News, Mayor Nielo “Bongbong” Tupas said the employees were brought to the quarantine facility in Barangay Vista Alegre after the results of their reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests were known.
“Some of them exhibited symptoms while others were in good condition,” Tupas said.
These cases were part of the 18 fresh cases recorded by the town on Feb. 23.
The mayor said some of the employees were close contacts of previous COVID-19 cases in their respective residences.
The DPWH engineering office was temporarily closed to give way to disinfection and contact tracing.
Tupas said more or less 100 close contacts of the personnel were swabbed. They were placed on home and facility quarantine pending the release of their RT-PCR test results.
As of Tuesday, Barotac Viejo logged 106 total confirmed cases of coronavirus disease with 21 active cases, 82 recoveries and three deaths./PN
