DISPLACED WORKERS. The Ilocos Norte government hires displaced workers as contact tracers in high risk barangays. At least 146 newly-hired contact tracers are ready for deployment. (PNA photo by Leilanie G. Adriano)
LAOAG CITY – At least 146 newly-hired contact tracers from various parts of Ilocos Norte are ready to be deployed and strengthen the province’s aggressive response to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
In partnership with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), the Provincial Contact Tracing team led by Major Roxanne Parado said Thursday the additional contact tracers to be deployed in high risk barangays of the province would be a great help to bring down Covid-19 cases.
Funded under the "Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) program of DOLE, Anne Marie Lizette Bitancor-Atuan, manager of the Provincial Public Employment Service Office, said Thursday the hiring of additional contact tracers is not only meant to augment the province’s contact tracing efforts but also provide local employment assistance to those who are hard-hit by the pandemic.
“I have been displaced from work since the start of the pandemic. I’m just thankful that after a tedious process of job hunting online, I was finally hired as a contact tracer of the province,” said Jordan Mistranza, a displaced worker from Cataban village, this city.
The newly-hired contact tracers shall render service for a period of 90 days and work eight hours a day. Each will receive a salary of PHP340 per day with a Government Service Insurance System accident insurance coverage.
Since September 24, Ilocos Norte’s quarantine classification has been downgraded to general community quarantine from modified enhanced community quarantine with 53 new cases added to its current 972 cases as of Oct. 6, 2021. (PNA)
