TACLOBAN City - A total of 37 police officers have now been infected with coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the Police Regional Office 8 (PRO8).
This was confirmed by PRO 8 Public Information Officer P/LtCol. Bella Rentuaya on Friday, September 4.
She added that among those who were infected by the dreaded virus was a police officer deployed at the Police Regional Office 7 in Cebu.
"Out of the 54 police officers, only 49 have returned so far and are now isolated in their respective local isolation areas," Rentuaya disclosed.
The police officers have returned from Cebu via Ormoc City after over two months of augmentation duty upon request by the national headquarters, while the COVID-19 infected personnel, along with four close contacts remained in Cebu for treatment and isolation.
Meanwhile, Samar Police Provincial Office has logged the most number of cases in PRO8 with 16 personnel infected.
Samar Provincial Police Office Director Col. Andrei Dizon said most of them were assigned to man checkpoints, which may have exposed them to the virus.
"Our operations are somehow affected but we can still manage as of this time. We remain a flexible police force here in Samar," Dizon maintained.
The official has directed their personnel to undergo quarantine based on the contact tracing findings with the concurrence of the Provincial Health Officer.
Of the 37 COVID-19 cases in PRO8, 31 are in isolation, while two have been admitted to health facilities. Four of them have already recovered.