FOURTEEN police officers assigned in Central Visayas were found positive for Covid-19, having undergone a swab test last week.
Brigadier General Ronnie Montejo, chief of the Police Regional Office Central Visayas (PRO 7), said the 14 police officers were immediately placed in an isolation facility and are being monitored by the Regional Health Service 7.
They are also tracing the 14 police officers’ close contacts.
Montejo said the 14 police officers are asymptomatic.
He believes they acquired the disease from their relatives and co-workers.
“We believe the mode of transmission varied from one officer to another. Some might have gotten it in the workplace, or from people they met in conferences, while some might have gotten it from the people they live with,” said Montejo.
Another police officer who is assigned at the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) tested positive for Covid-19 on January 21, 2021.
Colonel Josefino Ligan, Cebu City Police Office director, said they have placed the police officer in isolation.
Due to the recent infections that have occurred among police personnel in the region, Montejo instructed each police station to assign a station health unit that will monitor the health of their personnel on a daily basis.
Montejo also supported the return of barangay control points (BCPs) in 40 barangays in Cebu City with the recent surge of Covid-19 cases in the city.
If they do not have enough personnel, the PRO 7 is ready to add more to help guard the barangays with high numbers of Covid-19 cases, Montejo said.
However, Ligan assured that the number of personnel assigned at the BCPs to monitor the residents coming out of their respective homes is enough. (AYB/MMC)