By Jennifer P. Rendon
Twenty-four personnel of the Bureau of Fire Protection 6 (BFP-6) assigned to the regional and Iloilo city and provincial fire stations were infected with COVID-19.
Fire Senior Inspector Stephen Jardeleza, BFP-6 spokesperson, said the 24 are part of the 105 BFP personnel, or 22.8 percent of the Iloilo-based personnel, who underwent tests on Aug 27, 28, and 29, 2020.
Fourteen of them are assigned to the Iloilo City fire stations, six to the BFP-6 regional office, and four to the Iloilo provincial fire stations.
But as of late afternoon of Sept 11, Jardeleza said the BFP has no active COVID-19 cases.
The three admitted personnel were already discharged while the remaining personnel had already finished their quarantine period
When asked where and how the personnel contracted the virus, Jardeleza said there could be a lot of factors but most of them could not pinpoint exactly where.
“It’s local transmission. We could no longer trace it anymore,” he said.
Most of the 105 personnel who tested were asymptomatic. The series of tests conducted was an initiative of the bureau for their personnel.
Despite the number BFP-6 workers on quarantine, Jardeleza assured that they have enough personnel left to respond to fire calls. What could be affected are administrative aspects like paperworks.
“For now, we do constant disinfection and we always remind our personnel to practice health protocols like social distancing and wearing of face mask,” he said.
BFP-6 has four other COVID-19 cases, including the lady officer who travelled to Boracay Island in Malay, Aklan.
Jardeleza said the records did not include those from Bacolod City and Negros Occidental offices.
Initial reports claimed that at least six personnel were also confirmed to have contracted the virus in the said areas.
