ILOILO – The Santa Barbara police station is off-limits to the public. Two police officers and a non-uniformed personnel (NUP) tested positive for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Iloilo police director, Police Colonel Gilbert Gorero, said the police station is under strict quarantine while disinfection is being conducted.
Gorero said on June 11, Santa Barbara police chief, Police Major Raymund Celoso, his police investigator and an NUP underwent reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction test (RT- PCR) test. Celoso was COVID-negative while the two others were positive for coronavirus.
On Tuesday, June 15, seven more police officers underwent swabbing. One tested positive for the virus.
Gorero said augmentation personnel were already detailed there to ensure that services and police operations in Santa Barbara remain unhampered.
Celoso underwent another swab test yesterday (June 16) together with 12 personnel.
“They are now in the town’s quarantine facility,” Celoso said.
The police personnel were infected during a June 8 security operation. A violent mentally-challenged man, who was shot by policemen and eventually died, tested positive for COVID-19./PN
