INTER-AGENCY Task Force (IATF)-Visayas chief implementer Mel Feliciano, who oversees the Bacolod City Emergency Operations Center Task Force (EOC-TF), already approved the conduct of surveillance testing for the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) among food delivery drivers in the city.
Executive Assistant Ernie Pineda, cluster head on markets and Bacolod Quick Response Team, bared this after he presented the proposal to Feliciano Monday afternoon, October 26, at the Bacolod Government Center.
Pineda said Feliciano told him to finalize the plan and to set the schedule of the surveillance testing for all the food delivery drivers.
"We will complete the details so we can start the surveillance testing for the food delivery drivers. We want to ensure that our food delivery drivers are not carriers of Covid-19. They are delivering door-to-door so we should ensure that they are not infected with the virus," he said.
Pineda noted that the City Government earlier held the surveillance testing for the market vendors and out of 1,665 vendors who underwent the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCT) test for the Covid-19, 25 of them had positive results.
A day after the surveillance testing, Pineda said another 347 vendors also underwent RT-PCR test and only four of them turned positive for the virus.
"It was successful and we have some vendors who failed to undergo a swab test so we can include them in surveillance testing for the food delivery drivers," Pineda said.
He said they are also planning to include the public utility jeepney drivers and taxi drivers in surveillance testing.
"We will finalize the plan because this is for the safety of everybody to prevent the spread of Covid-19," he added.
As of October 25, Bacolod City has a total of 4,728 Covid-19 cases. Of the number, 4,244 patients recovered, 364 active cases and 120 deaths.