The Philippine National Police (PNP) will conduct regular swab test for its personnel assigned as frontliners in the campaign against COVID-19 and actively involved in law enforcement operations.
Police Lt. Gen. Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar, deputy chief for administration and concurrent commander of the PNP Administrative Support for COVID-19 Task Force (ASCOTF), said frequent swab testing on their personnel on the ground would prevent the spread of the coronavirus among police personnel.
“Our police frontliners and those who are on the ground also have their own respective families. By conducting regular swab tests on them, we are also protecting their family and the community where they live,” said Eleazar.
Policemen assigned in Metro Manila, according to Eleazar, are the priority in the conduct of frequent swab tests since the National Capital Region is considered as the epicenter of the coronavirus infection.
Based on the latest PNP data, 8,505 policemen have been infected by the coronavirus, with 27 reported deaths. The recovery rate, however, is high with the PNP reporting that 8,010 of those infected were able to recover.
Policemen are considered as prone to coronavirus infection as they regularly conduct operations that include raids and serving of arrests and search warrants. Policemen are also tasked with conducting regular patrol in the community and manning border control checkpoints as part of the implementation of the quarantine rules.
Eleazar explained that the infection risks that policemen face everyday demands regular swab tests for them to ensure that they remain free from the coronavirus.
“If our personnel are aware that they would be regularly tested, it becomes part of their responsibility to ensure that they are always protected,” said Eleazar.
The ASCOTF is in charge of ensuring the welfare of policemen amid the threat of the COVID-19, especially those assigned as frontliners, or those manning checkpoints and enforcing the quarantine rules.
Currently, the PNP has two testing centers in Camp Crame in Quezon City. Two more testing sites are expected to open soon in Cebu and Davao City.
Once a policeman, regardless of his rank, tests positive for the virus, he would immediately be transported to isolation facilities.
“The bottomline here is that this would help our personnel so we can sustain the operation of the PNP in the service of the Filipinos while waiting for the vaccine,” said Eleazar.