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Iloilo City mayor urges call center to cooperate, allow COVID-19 testing

Philippines | Visayas

Iloilo City mayor urges call center to cooperate, allow COVID-19 testing

By Tara Yap

Mayor Jerry Treñas of this city is calling on a call center company to cooperate and allow testing for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) of its other personnel after one of its agents had exposure to a person who died from COVID-19.

Management of other call centers and other business process outsourcing (BPO ) companies meet with Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas regarding concerns related to COVID-19. (Arnold Almacen/CMO)

“I hope their management will be transparent with what is happening and put the health and lives of their employees first,” said Treñas in a statement released Friday.

It was last July 24 when the Iloilo City government informed the call center that its office in Mandurriao district received information that a family member of one of its agents was a COVID-19 fatality.

The Iloilo City Health Office (ICHO) was supposed to conduct COVID-19 testing of personnel who may have come in contact with that particular call center agent, but were not initially allowed.

The call center management only allowed ICHO personnel to conduct testing last July 30, but only for a limited number of its employees.

“To my surprise, they only will allow us to swab a few of their agents,” added Treñas.

Meanwhile, Treñas met with management of other call centers or business process outsourcing (BPO) companies to ask for their cooperation if similar incidents will occur in the future.

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