DAGUPAN CITY – Fourteen out of the 517 front-liners who underwent the city’s risk-based mass testing have tested positive for coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), the city government confirmed.
In a radio interview Monday, Mayor Marc Brian Lim said the results that came out on Sunday, on the eve of the city’s shift to modified general community quarantine (MGCQ) from GCQ were based on the tests conducted by the city government, in coordination with the Philippine Red Cross last week.
Of the 14 new cases, one of them is from Barangay Turac East in San Carlos City, while the rest are from barangays Pantal, Barangay IV, Bonuan Gueset, Carael, Caranglaan, Calmay, Pogo Grande, Herrero Perez and Barangay Tocok in San Fabian town, according to the city’s Public Information Office.
Two of the new positive cases are policemen, one traffic enforcer, employees of the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office and City Health Office, Lim said.
“It is possible that there will be more positive cases among those who were tested because we are still awaiting more test results from the Red Cross,” Lim said.
There were a total of 728 city government front-liners, including those from the Dagupan City Philippine National Police, who had been swabbed, and only 517 test results were released on Sunday.
“With a total of 14 Covid-19 positive cases, that is 2.7 percent infection rate so far. All asymptomatic,” Lim said.
He added the new positive cases are now at the Region 1 Medical Center’s isolation ward.
“So they will be given proper medication because we cannot say if their symptoms will develop or not,” he said.
Lim said the city is now conducting contact-tracing while the work and services of the city government continue and unhampered.
“We do not want additional cases, but we also have to face reality. Once and for all, we wanted to test our front-liners for their health and to trace those who are asymptomatic carriers because there is a possibility they would infect especially those who are immunocompromised like our senior citizens,” he said.
He added that although it is bad news as the city’s Covid-19 cases increased, it is also good news as the asymptomatic carriers were traced and are now quarantined.
Lim had written the Covid-19 Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases to appeal that the city retains its GCQ status.
He also suspended the implementation of Executive Order (EO) No. 30-A on the basic guidelines for modified general community quarantine starting June 1, which he signed on May 29, 2020.
In his EO No. 31, Lim said he was reimposing the basic guidelines for GCQ.
“There is a need anew to restrict the movement of people in Dagupan given this supervening event in order to contain the spread of Covid-19,” he said.
Lim also advised Dagupeños to practice strict safe distancing and other health protocols. The city government also conducts disinfection in the city hall and other government offices. (PNA)
