By Dolly Yasa
BACOLOD City – More than 30 employees of the Bacolod City government are in isolation after a colleague tested positive for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
The personnel (Bacolod COVID Patient No. 89) is a utility worker from Barangay Tangub and was reported to have visited the Bacolod City Government Center to process his loan and payroll.
Earlier Bacolod City public information officer Danny Dangcalan confirmed reports that the General Services Office (GSO) located at the old city hall building in the downtown area was locked down.
Aside from the GSO, the Bacolod Arts and Youth Sports Center (BAYS Center) and the Respiratory Outpatient Center near the public plaza were also locked down.
33 city hall employees assigned in the different offices at the old city hall were subjected to swab test and placed under strict quarantine.
Among them was GSO head Jerome Solinap. 15 other employees of the GSO who had close contact with the COVID-19 patient on Monday were also isolated.
Solinap said the patient is in his 30s and assigned to the BAYS.
However, he went to the GSO to follow up some documents on July 8 and 9, Solinap said.
Although the patient is assigned to the BAYS Center, he is not involved in the operation of the Bacolod Respiratory Outpatient (BRO) Center at the facility which serves as a consulting center for mild respiratory cases.
Solinap said the utility worker underwent swab test Friday after complaining of flu-like symptoms.
The patient has not reported to work after the result of his swab test came out Monday since there is a standing instruction to GSO employees not to report for work if they are not feeling well.
As of this writing, Bacolod has 92 confirmed COVID cases, 52 recoveries, 36 active cases and four deaths.
Meanwhile, a Bacolod bank has temporarily closed after one of its tellers tested positive for COVID-19.
The teller and his mother, who had COVID symptoms, are admitted to a hospital here.
The co-workers of the teller were also subjected to swab test.
