ILOILO CITY—The local government here is eyeing to hire more persons to conduct contact tracing to help in the city’s coronavirus disease (COVID-19) response efforts.

“We are still lacking . That’s why we are encouraging applicants,” said Annabelle Rosario S. Blancaflor, Special Assistant to Mayor Jerry Treñas.
This is expected to bolster the manpower of the more than 120 people, who have already been trained by the Public Safety and Transportation Management Office (PSTMO) on contact tracing, led by Jeck Conlu.
“The objective of training is to hone contact tracing skills on what information is vital. It is not enough that you know the COVID-19 patient, but you have to understand the nature of their movement,” she pointed out.
This comes as the city is experiencing a sudden surge in the number of COVID-19 community transmissions.
A barangay in Mandurriao district recorded 10 cases, while another village logged more than five cases over the past week.
The hiring of more contact tracers will also be in line with Treñas’ stand that contact tracing must be serious, and that the city should not rely on neighborhood rumor mongers, or the so-called “chismosas”.
He dubbed the idea as “out of this world”.
Meanwhile, the city government is eying to deploy COVID-19 contract tracers in each of the city’s seven districts.