Some 29 Capitol employees have tested positive for COVID-19, Bohol Inter-Agency Task Force (BIATF) spokesperson Dr. Yul Lopez confirmed on Friday.

Prior to the announcement, the provincial government had already ordered a daylong closure of the Capitol for disinfection scheduled on Friday.

Lopez, during an online press briefing, said the COVID-stricken Capitol workers included 14 employees from the Provincial Government Services Office (PGSO) and 15 from the Provincial Treasurer’s Office (PTO).

“All of them are already safely quarantined sa atong central isolation center unya ongoing pud ang contact tracing,” Lopez said.

The 29 employees tested positive in both rapid antigen test (RAT) and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test.

“Nagkapareho na nagsugod ni sa usa ka reported nga kaso na symptomatic mao na gihimuan og PCR swab dayon, and turned out positive,” Lopez said.

“So gilayaon ang dinalian nato na action mao ang pag advise nga e-vacate dayon ang maong buhatan,” he added.

Meanwhile, all the other employees of both departments have been directed to undergo home quarantine.

The PGSO has over 100 employees while the PTO has 60.

On Thursday, the provincial government through a memorandum directed all employees working at the Capitol building to follow a work-from-home arrangement.

In the memo, the Office of the Governor said that all offices inside the government building will be closed for disinfection but did not disclose the detected infections. (RT)