DISINFECTION. Personnel of the City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office fumigate the lobby of the Bacolod City Government Center (BCGC) in early August. Starting Monday noon (Aug. 10, 2020), the BCGC has been locked down for at least seven days after a second city government employee succumbed to Covid-19. (File photo courtesy of Bacolod City DRRMO)
BACOLOD CITY – Mayor Evelio Leonardia ordered the lockdown of the Bacolod City Government Center (BCGC) for at least seven days starting Monday noon after another employee died of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
“It is with a heavy heart that I share with you the news of the passing of yet another city government employee. He succumbed to the deadly Covid-19 today and he is the second employee to have expired due to the virus, in just under a week,” the mayor said in a statement.
The latest fatality is also a staff at the City Treasurer’s Office-Land Tax Division, where six employees tested positive of Covid-19. Two died while the four, who are under quarantine, are asymptomatic.
The first employee, a 48-year-old woman, passed away last week.
On July 31, the office of Land Tax Division, located on the ground floor of the BCGC, was already sealed off for 14 days for disinfection and preventive decontamination.
Leonardia said he immediately ordered the closure of the entire BCGC based on the recommendation of Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran, chair of the city’s inter-agency task force against Covid-19, along with City Administrator Em Ang, and Dr. Ma. Carmela Gensoli, city health officer, and other government officials.
The closure will allow personnel of the City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (CDRRMO) to effectively decontaminate or disinfect the building and its surroundings, he added.
Leonardia said he directed the City DRRMO, City Health Office, and the Department of Social Services and Development to temporarily operate outside the BCGC to continue the delivery of the city’s emergency and social welfare services.
The City Mayor’s Office will be temporarily based at the Bacolod City Public Plaza Office while the City Administrator’s Office will operate at the Tourism Satellite Office/Bayanihan Center along Rizal Street, near SM City Bacolod.
“We implore everyone to do their share by cooperating with our authorities and by following the minimum health protocols set by the national and local governments. Our individual acts definitely count in this fight,” the mayor said.
As of Sunday night, Bacolod has recorded 378 Covid-19 patients, of which 281 are active cases, 89 have recovered and eight died. (PNA)
