HELP IN COVID-19 RESPONSE. The USAID, under its ReachHealth Program, turns over two mobile swabbing vehicles to the Zamboanga City Health Office in support of its Covid-19 response efforts. Shown in photo are Dr. Noel Tarrazona, USAID-ReachHealth representative (center); Jerhome Sojuaco, City Health Office sanitation engineer (right); and Aimee Fetros (left), swabber, during the turnover on Monday (June 28, 2021). (Photo courtesy of the Zamboanga City Hall Public Information Office)
ZAMBOANGA CITY – The city government here is requesting the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and Department of Health (DOH) to extend until Dec. 30 this year, the work contract of contact tracers and nurses temporarily deployed in isolation facilities.
Mayor Maria Isabelle Climaco-Salazar said Wednesday the contracts of contact tracers expire June 30 while those of the nurses and other health workers assigned in isolation centers under the DOH will end on Aug. 30.
There are 243 contact tracers employed by the DILG that are assisting the City Health Office in the fight against coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
“Our contact tracers and health workers have been working tremendously in our fight against Covid-19 and we badly need their continued services as there is no end in sight yet for the pandemic. Thus, we want their contracts extended until the end of this year,” Salazar said in a statement.
The mayor also reiterated her appeal to the residents to always cooperate with the authorities in the implementation of the minimum health standards to curb the spread of Covid-19.
Meanwhile, Salazar thanked the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for its ReachHealth Program that is consistently supporting the city government's Covid-19 response efforts.
She said the USAID-ReachHealth has turned over two mobile swabbing vehicles to help fast-track specimen collection in the different barangays, aside from augmenting the city's swabbing team with six personnel.
She noted that before the turnover, the USAID shouldered the rental fees of the vehicles with drivers for two months and assigned them to the City Health Office for swabbing fieldwork.
The agency helps its partners build resilient health systems and improve public health.
In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, ReachHealth is working to lessen its impact on the individuals and communities it serves. (PNA)
