THE number of infected employees of the Provincial Government of Negros Occidental with Covid-19 is now at 43 after it recorded four new infections recently.
Lawyer Rayfrando Diaz, Negros Occidental provincial administrator, said the new infections include an executive assistant, a department head, a job order casual assigned in the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist at the Panaad Park and Stadium in Bacolod City's Barangay Mansilingan, and a radiologist from the Teresita Lopez Jalandoni Provincial Hospital in Silay City.
The executive assistant who had fallen ill with Covid-19 was reported Thursday last week, while two of the new cases underwent swab testing Sunday afternoon. Their results were released the same evening.
The Capitol employees infected with Covid-19 have been sent to the provincial healing center in Mambukal Resort in Murcia.
Despite the new infections among the provincial employees, Diaz said the good news is that the number of active cases among their employees has dropped to 36 after seven of the previous employees have since recovered and were released from their quarantine at the Mambukal Resort. The seven have also returned to work.
Due to the rising number of Covid-19 cases among their employees, Diaz said they have forwarded a request to the Department of Health for them to start inoculating the provincial government employees to avoid derailing their basic services to the public.
Diaz said if approved, they are targeting to vaccinate at least 3,000 employees, although it is possible that it could be further reduced due to earlier vaccinations on health workers of the provincial government.
"Maybe another 1,000+ ang ginalantaw naton nga mabakunahan diri sa provincial Capitol," Diaz said.