At least 121 government frontline workers are under quarantine as of the weekend due to exposure to confirmed coronavirus disease (Covid-19) patients, local officials said on Monday.

Dr. Rochelle Oco, acting head of the City Health Office, said the personnel involved are assigned in the local government’s Covid-19 response units, rural health units (RHU), barangay health stations, and the Dr. Jorge P. Royeca Hospital (DJPRH).

Oco said the quarantined personnel are nurses, dental aides, midwives, laboratory aides, barangay health workers, medical technicians, encoders, pharmacist, drivers, and other support personnel of the city government and Department of Health.

“It already affected the operations of some of our RHUs and other field units,” she told reporters.

Oco cited the case of the RHU and birthing home in Barangay Calumpang, which suspended their operations after 49 workers were isolated due to exposure to Covid-19 cases.

She said the animal bite center and birthing home of the RHU in Barangay Labangal have closed down temporarily after all 21 of their personnel were quarantined.

Also affected were the health stations in Barangays Lagao, Tinagacan, Katawangan, and San Isidro, she added.

Despite the situation, all but one of the city’s 12 RHUs and 26 barangay health stations have continued to render services, especially to non-Covid-19 patients.

Under the “new normal” policies, she said physical consultations are now limited to 10 persons per day, adding they assigned health workers to visit and distribute the birth control and maintenance medicine of their constituents.

Some RHUs have started adopting the telemedicine or “tele-konsulta” system to limit the number of people going to their facilities, she said.

At the local government-run DJPRH, Dr. Ryan Aplicador, the hospital chief, bared that one of their staff has tested positive of Covid-19 while two others are under isolation.

But Aplicador said the hospital’s overall operations remained normal and it continues to accept non-Covid-19 and suspect patients.

DJPRH hosts a special ward for mild cases of the disease and a treatment facility for moderate to severe patients.

“The city hospital is our last defense against Covid-19 so we’re making sure that it will remain operational and ready to serve our patients,” he added. (PNA)