GENERAL SANTOS CITY – The number of police personnel here who have contracted the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) this month has increased to 26 as of Wednesday but an official said the situation has not affected their operations.
Maj. Rissa Hernaez, spokesperson of the city police office, said their eight police stations remained on full deployment and continue to operate normally with utmost precaution due to the rising COVID-19 community-transmitted cases in the area.
She said 15 of the cases were from the city’s Police Station 4 in Barangay San Isidro, which is among the areas that recorded a continuing spike in COVID-19 infections since last month.
Four cases were recorded in Police Station 2 (Makar), three in Station 7 (Fatima), and one each in Station 1 (Pendatun), Station 3 (Lagao), Station 5 (Tambler), and Station 6 (Bula).
The city police office only recorded 10 confirmed cases from January to April.
“This is the highest number of infections recorded among our personnel so far,” Hernaez said in a radio interview.
She said the patients are properly isolated under close observation and treatment at the Regional Health Service-12 in Camp Fermin Lira here.
Contact tracing has been conducted for all confirmed cases in coordination with the local government, through the City Health Office, she said.
Local police units have increased their deployment in various public areas after the city reverted starting Tuesday until June 30 to the stricter general community quarantine to curb the increasing COVID-19 cases.