BY BOY RYAN B. ZABAL
KALIBO, Aklan – The Provincial Health Office (PHO) of Aklan is in the thick of “mass testing” the residents of Purok 1 in Barangay Poblacion here.
The testing started on Nov. 27 after Purok 1 was placed under surgical lockdown due to rising cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
The lockdown ends on Dec. 4.
Purok 1 recorded close to 20 active COVID-19 cases and one fatality in November.
Health authorities identified “patient zero” as a 43-year-old woman who was brought to the Aklan provincial hospital on Nov. 16. She died on the same day due to COVID-19-related complications.
The Aklan Inter-Agency Task Force and Aklan governor Florencio Miraflores expressed alarm during a meeting on Nov. 25. Purok 1 is the smallest zone in the populated area of C. Laserna-Interior but is bounded by Purok 2 and Purok 6, which were put on granular lockdowns from Sept. 20 to Oct. 5.
The task force decided to perform mass testing in Purok 1 to calibrate efforts combating COVID-19. The government is paying for the tests.
Barangay Poblacion captain Neil Candelario said the testing focuses on adults and children above six years old.
Seven teams of medical technologists and nurses carry out the tests (swabbing).
All specimens will be analyzed at the molecular laboratory of the Dr. Rafael S. Tumbokon Memorial Hospital in Kalibo and Western Visayas Medical Center sub-national laboratory in Iloilo City./PN
