Hundreds of employees of various private and public agencies in Quezon City have turned out positive for COVID-19 since the local government launched its free expanded swab testing last month.
According to the local government, out of 4,932 individuals who were tested, 199 of them—mostly working in factories, call center companies, wet and dry markets and government agencies—were positive for the virus following the launching of "Kyusi-Industriya I.W.A.S. (Industry-Wide Active Surveillance) sa COVID-19" program on June 16.
Aside from that, 12 cops from Quezon City Police District's (QCPD) stations 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11, and 21 persons under police custody (PUPCs) also turned out positive for the virus.
This was on top of the 82 cops, including those who were deployed during President Duterte's 6th and last State of the Nation Address, from QCPD Station who became controversial after testing positive for the virus.
In launching the program, Mayor Joy Belmonte said the local government has "to be proactive to contain any upsurge of cases."
"We want to make sure that our frontliners and essential workers are safe in their respective places of work... And one way to do that is to offer them free swab testing on a regular basis regardless of whether they are exhibiting symptoms or not," she said.