By Dolly Yasa
BACOLOD City – The wearing of face masks inside government offices in Cadiz City Hall in Negros Occidental is now mandatory.
This, after two department heads of the Cadiz City government and a national government office both tested positive for COVID-19, Mayor Salvador Escalante Jr. said on Tuesday.
“This only shows that the COVID-19 pandemic continues to pose a significant threat to the health and safety of the residents of Cadiz City,” Escalante said in his issued executive order reimposing the mask mandate.
Escalante also said that contact tracing is now ongoing to determine if other City Hall employees were infected by the virus.
He raised the possibility that the infection may have originated from those outside of Cadiz City who recently visited the City Hall.
As stipulated in the executive order, government employees and clients of Cadiz City Hall are required to wear face masks while inside the enclosed government offices.
Minimum public health standards shall continue to be observed to prevent and minimize the spread of COVID-19, it added.
“Failure to comply with the provisions of this executive order, as well as the established protocols issued by the Department of Health and Inter Agency Task Force shall face appropriate administrative, and, or, criminal sanctions under existing laws and regulations,” the executive order added.
Aside from the two government employees, Escalante said he was also informed that a private person in Cadiz City was also infected by the virus.
Should there be intensified testing, the mayor said there could be more infected individuals.
The infected persons are now under home quarantine, Escalante said.
He again enjoined Cadiznons, especially those with comorbidities, to wear face masks in public places.
This is one way of reminding also the people that COVID-19 is still with us although not potent as before, Escalante said.
