KIDAPAWAN CITY – All elected officials of a town in North Cotabato are now in isolation due to possible coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection after having close contact with a colleague who has contracted the virus.
“I was told that one of our colleagues in the Sangguniang Bayan was positive of COVID-19 and we have close contact with him,” Vice Mayor Rogelio Marañon of Magpet, North Cotabato said in a phone interview by reporters here Monday.
Marañon, who assumed as acting town mayor on June 11 after Mayor Florenito Gonzaga was isolated due to COVID-19 infection, said he and the rest of the 12 councilors are also currently in isolation.
“We expect the results of our swab test to come anytime today (Monday). In the meantime, we are on quarantine,” he said.
Marañon said the town councilor who manifested symptoms of COVID-19 joined the June 8 session of the Magpet council.
“Later, he tested positive and that put the entire town council members as possible virus carrier too,” Marañon said.
In the meantime, Ivy Cervantes, municipal local government operations officer of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG)-12, assumed as caretaker of the office of the town mayor.