The municipal hall of Sagbayan, after it was briefly closed last week, reopened its offices on Monday as all 68 of its employees who came into “close contact” with a COVID-19 patient tested negative for the virus.

The public are now allowed to resume their transactions with the municipal offices, according to Felito Pon, executive secretary of Sagbayan Mayor Restituto Suarez III, during an interview with dyRD Balita Monday.

The PCR tests of 68 municipal employees who were traced as first generation contacts of the 62-year old utility worker assigned at the Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office (MSWDO) all came out negative, according to Pon.

Contact-tracing revealed that said utility worker may have contracted the virus from two (2) of his relatives who were locally stranded individuals (LSIs) from Cebu and recently returned to Bohol.

Said utility worker was reportedly delivering food rations to his relatives who both tested positive of COVID-19.

The patient and his relatives are currently quarantined and being treated at the municipal isolation facility, Pon said.

All in all, Sagbayan reported nine cases of COVID-19 with one case considered as locally transmitted, which is the municipal utility worker, Pon concluded. (KB, RT)