ILOILO City – The office of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG)-Iloilo province at a mall on Sen. Benigno Aquino Avenue, Mandurriao district was locked down yesterday and would remain such until further notice.
Twenty-three personnel tested positive for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), according to Regional Director Juan Jovian Ingeniero.
“Pero asymptomatic. In coordination with their LGUs (local government units), nag-isolate na po sila,” Ingeniero told Panay News.
Three employees were earlier found infected with SARS-CoV-2, prompting the rollout of contact tracing to stop the virus from being passed on.
“It started with the three. Right there and then nag-issue na ako ng lockdown and decontamination order,” said Ingeniero.
At least 35 close contacts were swabbed on Jan. 24 and their results came out yesterday.
“Nagkaroon din kami ng intensive contact tracing. Pati ‘yung second degree, hindi lang ang direct contacts,” Ingeniero further said.
As part of precautionary measures, Ingeniero instructed the DILG-Iloilo to implement a work-from-home scheme among the uninfected personnel for the time being.
It was still unclear how the first three cases contracted the viral illness.
All personnel with established contacts with any of the 23 positive cases have already been informed of the test results and were immediately included in the list of contacts for swabbing.
Meanwhile, Ingeniero clarified that notwithstanding the lockdown, DILG-Iloilo remains in operation.
“We guarantee the public that our service will not falter even with this incident. Our commitment remains steadfast in ensuring that we all heal as one,” he said.
DILG-6 has been in close coordination with the city government and the Department of Health to ensure that all protocols are observed from isolation down to contact tracing./PN
