A TOTAL of 26,872 contact tracers have been hired and deployed as of Sunday, October 11, 2020, in a bid to contain coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) transmission in the country, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año said.
He said 12,197 others have met the requirements and were being processed for employment.
Año said the new hires include 12,421, or 45 percent, of the target contact tracers in Luzon; 6,234, or 69 percent, of the target number in the Visayas; and 8,217 in Mindanao, including the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
He said the DILG aims to hire and deploy the targeted 50,000 contact tracers by the end of October 2020.
Año assured that all contact tracers that were hired are qualified and committed to the task.
DILG Undersecretary and spokesperson Jonathan Malaya said the number of applicants they received immediately after the signing of the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act (Bayanihan 2 Law), which provides the budget for the hiring of contact tracers, indicates “that there are many Filipinos who are willing to help the government fight the unseen enemy.”
Contact tracers are tasked to conduct interviews and profiling, and perform an initial public health risk assessment of Covid-19 cases and their identified close contacts; refer the close contacts to isolation facilities; conduct enhanced contact tracing in collaboration with other agencies and private sector; conduct daily monitoring of close and general contacts for at least 14 days, and perform such other tasks in relation to the Covid response.
The hiring of more contact tracers will allow the government to meet the recommendation of contact tracing czar and Baguio City Mayor Benjie Magalong to reach a 1:37 patient to close contact ratio in order to cut the transmission of the disease.
Magalong’s contact tracing system was recognized by the World Health Organization. It was also seen as the key to the success of the Covid-19 response in Metropolitan Cebu and Baguio City.
Meanwhile, the DILG urged the local government units, business establishments, as well as the general public to utilize the Staysafe.ph digital contact tracing system.
LGUs and business establishments may generate their unique QR codes and use it as a digital logbook system for them to do away with numerous contact tracing forms and documents for their clients.
QR codes may also be used as alternative for printed quarantine passes being issued by the LGUs.
It also has built-in admin SMS blast so LGUs can easily release public advisories and announcements.
"The new and improved StaySafe app can be used by LGUs by accessing the heat map, contact tracer enrollment and deputization, and for cognitive contact tracing. It can also be used by individuals to report their health condition or to generate their own individual QR code which can be pre-filled before entering any building or establishment,” said Malaya.
“While some LGUs have developed their own digital contact tracing system, these systems can only be used within their territorial boundaries while Stay Safe can be utilized nationwide,” he added.
The DILG said such contact tracing applications are already being used in Singapore, South Korea and China.
Malaya assured the public that there is no surveillance on all app downloads as it is mainly used for monitoring of suspect or confirmed Covid-19 patients only.
He said the National Privacy Commission has reviewed the app’s safety features to protect the person’s privacy. (SunStar Philippines)