LOCKDOWN. The regional office of the National Irrigation Administration in Iloilo City is on lockdown on Wednesday (Aug. 5, 2020) after two of its employees tested positive for Covid-19. Their operations will resume once the disinfection of their workplace is completed. (PNA photo courtesy of NIA 6)
ILOILO CITY – The regional office of the National Irrigation Administration in Western Visayas is under a temporary lockdown after two of its employees tested positive for coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
“Our office will be on lockdown starting today until the disinfection process is complete,” the NIA management said in an official statement released on Wednesday.
It added that the two employees are asymptomatic and currently on strict quarantine.
On Wednesday, the Department of Health Western Visayas Center for Health Development (DOH-CHD 6) announced 60 new recoveries and 85 new confirmed cases based on the 2,329 results released by four laboratory centers in the region.
Eighty-two of the new cases were from Western Visayas composed of 33 from Bacolod City, 17 from Iloilo province, 13 from Negros Occidental, 10 from Iloilo City, five from Capiz three from Aklan and one from Guimaras.
Meanwhile, three other confirmed cases were tagged to other regions.
DOH data showed that 24 of the new confirmed cases are on home quarantine, two are admitted and one died.
The new recoveries included one returning overseas Filipino (ROF) and 46 locally stranded individuals (LSIs) from Negros Occidental; four LSIs and three local cases in Iloilo province and four LSIs and two ROFs from Capiz.
The new death was a 43-year-old female from Bacolod City whose positive result also came out on Wednesday.
The cumulative total cases in the region already rose to 1,703 -- 863 are active, 818 have already recovered, and 22 deaths.
The DOH data further showed that 90.38 percent of the total active cases are asymptomatic, 7.88 percent have an influenza-like illness and 1.74 percent have a severe acute respiratory infection.
Of the total active cases, 607 are LSIs, ROFs and authorized persons outside of residence (APOR) and the rest are local cases composed of 135 from Bacolod City; 70, Iloilo City; 25, Iloilo province; 23, Negros Occidental; two from Capiz and one from Guimaras.
Twenty-three other active cases are tagged to other regions.
Meantime, in a press conference on Wednesday, DOH-CHD 6 regional director Marlyn W. Convocar reiterated the policy of the department for individuals who were swabbed to observe the 14-day quarantine while waiting for results.
“Even if the result has been released you should finish the 14-days quarantine because you can be infectious during the 14-day period,” she said.
Convocar added that it is the responsibility of the local government unit or the entity that conducted the swab, with the support of the DOH, to put them in a quarantine facility.
She said that they saw lapses in this aspect.
“We will reinforce these lapses to our LGUs and national government agencies. We will do that and reiterate the reminders,” she added.
For national government agencies, they can utilize their staff house or dormitory to isolate their employees who were tested, as she mentioned that there are government agencies that have been requesting for swab testing.
With the case of NIA, she said it was good that the processing of the specimen was somehow fast. The employees, she said, were swabbed on Monday and the result was released Tuesday afternoon. (PNA)
