THE Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is set to hire contract tracers under its emergency employment program to help curb the rate of coronavirus infection in the National Capital Region and four surrounding provinces.

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said he advised local government units in the bubble area through the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG0 about the emergency employment program.

Bello said the local government units (LGUs) need to train workers to perform the task of contact tracer for a period of between 10 to 15 days in their respective communities and cities.

He said by employing displaced workers as contact tracers, LGUs will be able to augment their manpower requirement to trace and identify Covid-19 cases.

"There is an urgent need to strengthen the contract tracing efforts in the country, and displaced and disadvantaged workers under the emergency employment program of the Department will be hired as contact tracers," Bello said.

Under the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced (Tupad) Workers Program, displaced, underemployed and seasonal workers shall be provided with emergency employment for a minimum period of 10 days and a maximum of 30 days, depending on the nature of work to be performed.

On top of the Tupad program, Bello said the Covid-19 Adjustment Measures Program (Camp), a one-time cash assistance program to formal workers affected by the pandemic, will soon commence and the labor department will again be accepting applications from employers on behalf of their workers.