ONE out of over 40 police officers assigned in Barangay Luz, Cebu City has tested positive for the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
He is the first police officer from Central Visayas to test positive for the virus and is currently under isolation in a school located in Barangay Mabolo, Cebu City.
According to the PRO 7 Chief Police Brigadier General Albert Ignatius Ferro, the police officer who tested positive is a member of the Regional Mobile Force Battalion 7, which is composed of over a hundred police officers tasked to guard Barangay Luz, one of the barangays most affected by Covid-19.
Ferro said that over 40 police personnel were tested for Covid-19 and the police officer was the only one to be found positive. He, however, is not experiencing any symptoms.
“That person is having a good health condition and hopefully after 14 days of quarantine, we will let him take a swab test and we pray and hope nga mag negative na ang iyang results,” said Ferro.
The police officer is now under the care of doctors and has been given medicine and vitamins to keep him healthy so that he will recover from the virus faster.
Isolated personnel
Meanwhile, General Ferro ordered 56 police personnel and non-uniformed personnel of Sawang Calero police station 6 to be isolated, after two of the station’s detainees were found positive for Covid-19.
These personnel will continue to work in the police station but in the meantime, they are prohibited from going home to their respective households to avoid infecting their family members.
“Actually last night, they had been temporarily isolated in their police station and our medical QRT (quick response team) is looking into including the medical services of Cebu City to let them take a swab test for RT-PCR (reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction) and for the meantime they will just stay at the police station 6,” added Ferro.
Police Colonel Josefino Ligan announced that while the police personnel are under isolation, the Mobile Patrol Group will be temporarily responding to any alarm received by Station 6.
The officers in isolation are placed in a building across the police station, while awaiting results of their Covid-19 tests.
“Ang atoang mobile patrol group will cater to that, may instruction nako ang mobile patrol group and to be supported by our headquarters personnel,” said Ligan.
Swab samples were also taken from the 38 detainees of Station 6 to determine if any of them has been infected.
Results, including those of the police personnel, are expected to be available this Saturday, May 9.
New cases
The Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center logged seven new Covid-19 cases on Wednesday, May 6.
In her regular live news conference through Sugbo News, Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia said these new cases are jail officers of the facility.
This brings the total number of Covid-19 cases in the Province of Cebu to 35.
There are also 46 persons with influenza-like illness in the towns, while there are eight persons with severe acute respiratory infection in the provincial and district hospitals.
Meanwhile, there are 3,663 persons under monitoring who had to undergo the mandatory 14-day home quarantine for having a travel history to places with cases of the Covid-19.
As this developed, Garcia congratulated and expressed her gratitude to the members of the community for their monitoring and vigilance in reporting new arrivals in their sitios and barangays.
She also reiterated her warning against those who continue to attempt to “smuggle” persons to the towns despite stricter border control measures.
The governor said Police Regional Office 7 Director Brig. Gen. Albert Ignatius Ferro has reported a 70 percent drop in Cebu’s crime rate since the implementation of the enhanced community quarantine.
“Maka-ingon ko nga dako gyud ang papel niini sa atong mga sitio, sa atong mga barangay, sa mga kaigsuonan nato nga grabe kaayo ang pagbantay (I can say that those in the barangays and sitios who have been strictly guarding their communities have a big role in this),” Garcia said.
In Mandaue City, local officials confirmed that two residents of Barangay Opao and one resident of Barangay Mantuyong were found positive of the new coronavirus, increasing the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases to 93.
Two of the new cases are a nine-year-old boy and a 37-year-old woman from Sitio Gumamela in Opao.
The two are currently admitted at a private hospital in the city.
Health officials also advised the relatives of the two patients to undergo strict home quarantine.
The third new case is a 48-year-old male from Sitio Asinan in Barangay Mantuyong. (AYB, GPL, BBT with CBQ, RTF, NDT)