By Dolly Yasa
BACOLOD City – The Emergency Operations Center (EOC) traced 197 close contacts of 53 confirmed COVID-19 cases as of April 22, 2021.
EOC Contact Tracing head Dr. Rosalie Deocampo presented this data during the EOC’s daily huddle Thursday.
Deocampo said 93 of these close contacts are household members of those who tested positive for COVID-19.
The EOC, created by virtue of Mayor Evelio Leonardia’s Executive Order No. 59, has the primary objective of containing the spread of COVID-19 in Bacolod.
Recently, Leonardia ordered that verified close contacts of COVID-19 patients must undergo RT-PCR test as they are more prone to getting infected.
All close contacts who test negative are further required to undergo a 14-day home quarantine to prevent further infection of other individuals.
The strategy is also one way to closely monitor them if they show COVID-19 symptoms later for immediate treatment.
“A negative test can sometimes be a false assurance,” said EOC executive director and City Administrator Em Ang.
“There are other individuals who have tested positive seven days or even 13 days after their last exposure,” Ang added.
Ang reminded the public to follow minimum health protocols like wearing face masks and face shields and maintaining physical distancing.
“The EOC Contact Tracing cluster is meticulous in tracing the significant activities of confirmed cases and identifying all close contacts. This is just one of the harmonized and synchronized operations of the EOC necessary in mitigating the spread of the virus,” Ang added. (With a report from PIO)
