QC forms team to monitor barangays placed on 'special concern lockdown'
By Chito Chavez
The Quezon City government said on Tuesday that it has created a team of quarantine officers to beef up its continuing campaign against COVID-19.
Dubbed “QC Laban COVID-19,’’ the team will strictly monitor locations within the barangays to be placed under special concern lockdown (SCL) because they are considered high-risk areas due to their large number of COVID-19 cases.
The team is composed of personnel from the Quezon City City Health Department (QCHD), the Quezon City Police District (QCPD), Special Action Force (SAF), and the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ Joint Task Force-National Capital Region (JTF-NCR) under Brig. Gen. Alex Luna.
Assistant City Administrator for Operations Alberto Kimpo said the QCHD, led by its Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (ESU), will be accompanied by two personnel from the QCPD and three from the AFP -- one regular officer and two reservists.
“They will be deployed to locations that will be placed under special concern lockdown to ensure that quarantine processes are strictly followed,” Kimpo said.
The quarantine officers will conduct information dissemination, briefing residents on how to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in their community.
After the 14-day period in the barangays under SCL, the QCHD will also conduct extensive testing in these areas to ensure that they are COVID-19-free.
QCESU head Dr. Rolly Cruz said more than 200 members of the QCPD-AFP-SAF contingent will undergo training to guarantee that all quarantine rules are implemented to the letter.
He added that the selection of areas to be placed under SCL will be based on the results of the community-based testing conducted by the QCHD and the QCESU.
“If clustering was observed in these areas, meaning two or more households in each area have positive cases, it is very likely they will end up under the special concern lockdown,” Cruz said.
The QCHD may also place urban poor and highly-dense locations in the barangays under SCL if clustering is detected.
Mayor Joy Belmonte said the city government will provide food and other relief goods and services to the residents in the affected areas until the SCL is lifted.
She also appealed to local residents to fully cooperate with the city government to help combat COVID-19.