ILOILO City – Three more employees of the Department of Tourism (DOT) in Region 6 including its officer-in-charge Christine Mansinares tested positive for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), bringing their total cases to 16.
Mansinares, in a virtual presser yesterday, said out of 36 total employees, 34 were contact traced.
Most of the cases were asymptomatic and only four, including the first two cases, had mild symptoms.
The first two cases tested positive for COVID-19 over the weekend, another 10 on Tuesday, one on Wednesday, and an additional three cases yesterday. Contact tracing was thus expanded.
The COVID-hit employees were from Guimaras and Iloilo city and province. Mansinares’ case, meanwhile, was tagged in Bacolod City. Corresponding coordination with concerned local government units was made.
Mansinares is currently isolating at a facility. She, together with three other employees who travelled, tested negative for COVID-19 only two weeks ago.
Considering the fast transmission among DOT employees, Mansinares said she would coordinate with Mayor Jerry Treñas so their specimen samples would be submitted to the Philippine Genome Center (PGC) for genome sequencing.
She said they have yet to identify the source of infections.
The lady OIC-regional director added that of the total employees, 25 including some of those who tested positive for the virus were either fully-vaccinated or had their first dose of anti-COVID jabs.
“So far wala ‘ta serious case, mild tanan kag majority asymptomatic,” said Mansinares.
DOT-6 has indefinitely closed its office at the old Iloilo provincial capitol building.
The transacting public can still reach the office through the email address posted on the DOT Western Visayas Facebook page while the employees will be on a work-from-home set up./PN
