More personnel of the Philippine Coast Guard working in the frontlines of the pandemic have tested positive for coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
The PCG now has 600 the total confirmed cases.
Seventy-one new cases were reported from July 27 to 28, taking the tally of active cases to 297 as of Wednesday.
The confirmed cases rose to 600 in the span of six days as the Coast Guard reported a total of 426 cases last July 22.
In addition, there were 303 recoveries as 45 new recovered personnel were reported.
Majority of them are asymptomatic and mild cases and are admitted in government quarantine facilities.
According to the Coast Guard, the infected employees are deployed in strategic areas to assist locally stranded individuals (LSIs), returning overseas Filipinos (ROFs) and their families, fellow frontline workers, as well as maritime stakeholders including fishermen, ship crew, and cargo truck drivers.
The infected personnel were immediately pulled out from their stations and provided with medical assistance and other resource support for immediate recovery, it added.
While there are possibilities of exposure between the infected personnel and assisted LSIs, the Coast Guard assured that the line of coordination with concerned local government units is active to prevent any transmission in their places.
The Coast Guard noted that LSIs are prevented from going back directly to their homes once they arrived in their home provinces to undergo two-week quarantine.
Meanwhile, the organization is exploring the use of ultraviolet lights to aid the manual disinfection of work spaces and billeting areas as well as the establishment of a quarantine facility that will solely cater to Coast Guard personnel who will need to isolate.
“The Command conducts regular swab tests and ensures that its frontline personnel are equipped with sufficient supplies of vitamins, personal protective equipment sets, and other medical supplies in the performance of their duties,” the Coast Guard said.
It added that it is also working on the review of the quality of meals served to frontline personnel to ensure that each meal is packed with nutrients to boost their immune system.
Aside from having rest periods and work breaks, they undergo debriefing sessions to uphold their well-being amid the ongoing pandemic.