The Bohol Inter-Agency Task Force (BIATF) on Friday confirmed that 92 Capitol employees have contracted COVID-19 amid the ongoing suspension of services of the provincial government due to the spread of the virus among its employees.
BIATF spokesperson Dr. Yul Lopez, during a Capitol-paid radio program, said that most of the infections were detected in employees of the Provincial General Services Office (PGSO) and Provincial Treasurer’s Office with 33 and 27 cases, respectively.
According to Lopez, the Capitol tested all personnel of offices with a reported COVID-19 case.
“Magsugod ta sa buhatan na adunay positive, unya ato g’yung gihurot og swab ang kawani nianang buhatan aron sayo ma identify ang mga positive aron di na madungagan ang pagtakod,” he said.
Other cases were detected in the following offices:
- Budget Office – 17
- Provincial Accountant’s Office – 5
- Governor’s Office – 4
- Office of the Provincial Veterinarian – 2
- Provincial Assessor’s Office – 1
- Office of the Provincial Agriculturist – 1
- Bohol Information and Communication Technology Unit – 1
- Vice Governor’s Office – 1
Meanwhile,Governor Art Yap and Vice Governor Rene Relampagos were cleared from quarantine and testing as both were not traced to be among the contacts of any of the employees who tested positive for COVID-19.
“Wala sila’y contact…G.O. ADMIN is 2nd floor, GOV is 4th floor and sige man siya byahe sa mga barangays..VGO – everybody is PCR negative….ang 1 positive is actually holding office outside the VGO, liaison siya,” Lopez said in a separate text message to the Chronicle.
According to Lopez, all of the COVID-stricken individuals have been placed under quarantine.
Some “10 percent” of the infected Capitol employees experienced symptoms while the rest were asymptomatic.
“More or less duna ray gamayng sip-on na dili na kinahanglan dad-on sa tambalan,” he said.
Only one patient has been hospitalized at the Governor Celestino Gallares Memorial Hospital in Tagbilaran City as the person was noted to have comorbidities.
All offices under the provincial government that are located in Tagbilaran City were ordered closed for two days starting Thursday for disinfection and contact-tracing operations.
Employees were directed to work from home. (R. Tutas)