THE Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) is now Covid-19-free after the last policeman infected with the novel coronavirus has recovered from the disease.
The policeman was placed in 14-day isolation after he tested positive for Covid-19.
“I am happy to announce that the CCPO is Covid-free, and hopefully, there will be no more cases,” acting CCPO chief Police Colonel Josefino Ligan said.
Next week, another group of policemen in the entire Central Visayas will be released after undergoing a seven-day recovery program by the Police Regional Office 7 and the Cebu City Government.
A total of 113 policemen in Cebu City were infected with Covid-19 and two of them have died.
Ligan said one of the strategies to contain the virus infection is to isolate suspects arrested in drug operations before they are placed in a regular cell at the police stations.
It was observed that the spread of the virus among policemen was during the face-to-face investigation of the arrested drug suspects.
Ligan said: “Now our protocol is to place all arrested suspects in the bust bus first before transferring them to the station. This is to protect our essential personnel and other detainees.”
Before the arrested suspects are transferred to the detention cells at the police station, they are to undergo a swab test.
This protocol will continue at the CCPO to protect police personnel.
Ligan said all police stations have handwashing areas and defogging chambers that will be used in disinfecting individuals getting inside the police stations.
Meanwhile, the municipality of Dumanjug has temporarily suspended the operations of its Rural Health Unit (RHU) after six of its staff members tested positive for Covid-19.
The official announcement was made by the municipality on Aug. 26, 2020.
Last week, Dumanjug reported three new cases.
To avoid the further spread of the virus, Josefina Malana, M.D. asked Dumanjug Mayor Efren Guntrano Gica to have the RHU facility of the Emergency Rescue Team (ERT) disinfected.
Following the news, Gica requested the staff to undergo a swab test. Three personnel from the RHU have tested positive for Covid-19, in addition to the three new cases mentioned.
The personnel who tested positive will not be allowed to report to work until they complete the mandatory 14-day quarantine.
In compliance with the Department of Health’s orders, they also need to undergo a repeat swab test before reporting back to work post-quarantine.
According to Malana, the RHU will be closed until Aug. 31 and will resume operations on Sept. 1. However, only those personnel with no symptoms and have tested negative in the swab tests can report to work.
Despite the temporary closure of the RHU, Malana will still be on duty to cater to urgent concerns such as death certificates, embalming and retrieval.
Based on the last report released by the municipal government on Aug. 5, Dumanjug town has reported a total of 15 Covid-19 cases, with three active cases and 12 recoveries.
The municipality is asking the public to follow health protocol to prevent the spread of the virus. (AYB, ANV / CBQ)