Kabankalan locks down three offices; 7 employees tested positive for COVID

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Seven employees of Kabankalan City local government tested positive for COVID-19 virus, prompting the locked down of three departments.

Six of those who infected by the virus were from the City Engineers Office  and one from the City Assessors Office, City Administrator Sixto Garaygay said.

He said the seven employees were close contacts of the Assistant City Engineer who died the previous weekend due to complications from COVID-19.

The swab results of the seven employees were released yesterday (Nov. 17).

Garaygay said the two offices were placed under locked down and transactions were redirected to the City Hall lobby were a table had been set up for the staff.

Also locked down was the Public Service Employment Office after the officer in charge was traced as close contact of one of those who tested positive for the virus.

Garaygay is pushing for the 5-day duty and 5-day off work schedule for all city government employees starting next week until everyone is tested and the situation normalized.

He said this is allowed under the new guideline of the Civil Service Commission.

Kabankalan City Health Officer Dr. Fernando Fernandez said that while most of the new cases were asymptomatic, they were immediately moved to the isolation facility of the city. Their immediate family members were also alerted and advised to undergo swab testing.

Local contact tracers from CHO are looking for other employees, who had transactions with the CEO last week, for them to undergo swab testing.

Meanwhile, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Ernell Tumimbang said he expects a status report on morbidity from the office of Dr. Fernandez following a recent mortality case. – ML