LEGAZPI CITY (PNA) – The Legazpi City Hospital (LCH) here was placed under lockdown on Thursday after one of its employees tested positive for the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), the City Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) said.
Mayor Noel Rosal, city IATF-EID chairman, in an interview, said the temporary lockdown of the hospital in Barangay Bitano, would maximize the Covid-19 risk management measure.
The lockdown, he added, would give sufficient time for the proper discharge of patients including the disinfection of the entire building and its premises.
He said of the 16 patients confined at the hospital, 13 were discharged and three remained.
As a precautionary measure, 120 hospital employees would undergo a Covid-19 swab test and contact tracing.
The hospital operation will resume once the testing, contact tracing, and disinfection are completed.
Meanwhile, 13 new Covid-19 cases were recorded in the city.
Rosal said they are all connected to the cases at the Home Development Mutual Fund (Pag-IBIG) office that has been placed on lockdown since Jan. 30.
“Lahat po ito may connection sa Pag-IBIG office, 10 employees at three close contacts (All of them are connected to Pag-IBIG office, 10 employees and three close contacts),” he said.
The swab test results of the new cases were released on Wednesday.
Six of the Covid patients have manifested the symptoms of the disease while the rest are asymptomatic and were told to be on quarantine for 14 days.
The mayor said IATF is looking at the possibility of a health protocol violation in the office.
Rosal reminded the public, particularly those who had visited the Pag-IBIG Fund office to keep calm and stay home.
“Quarantine, observe yourselves and if symptoms are present or you want to be swabbed, please report to the city health office,” he said.
Other government offices that were earlier also placed on lockdown due to Covid-19 were the Department of Education, Government Service Insurance System and Provincial Environment Natural Resources Office.