A total of 50 newly hired contact tracers of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) in Bicol have been deployed to Virac town in Catanduanes province to help in the continuous fight against the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
Elouisa Pastor, Virac municipal administrator, in an interview on Wednesday said the strong and highly motivated young men and women are not just contact tracers but their partners in achieving their zero-Covid-19 case goal.
“We plan to call them Virac Covid busters who, just like the characters of the supernatural comedy film Ghostbusters, will bond together to search, contain and stop the virus from spreading and causing sickness, fear and anxiety among the people,” Pastor said.
According to her, the 50 contact tracers were divided according to their area of competencies.
“The computer graduates were grouped as multi-media designers and data encoders. Those with health and education background were assigned as community criers and mobilizers tasked to distribute flyers and conduct information education campaign (IEC) produced by the multimedia designers while the criminology graduates were assigned as interviewers of identified contacts of positives and suspects while the rest were assigned as quarantine facility including home quarantine monitors to ensure that they stay quarantined for 14 days,” Pastor said.
She added that the contact tracers were distributed to the 11 catchment areas covering the whole town, with each group supervised by nurses and midwives of the rural health units (RHUs) and Department of Health (DOH).
Pastor expressed optimism that with the help of the contact tracers and hospital owners and administrators, their goal for a Covid-free Virac will be achieved before the end of the year.
“Working together with high hopes, shared goal, full support, firm commitment and most of all, the strong faith in God of every Viracnon, we can achieve even the impossible. May we be guided by the Lord in this endeavor for zero Covid for Virac before the year ends,” she added.
As of Oct. 21, Virac has recorded two new recoveries from Covid-19, bringing the total number of those who have beaten the illness to 60.
Two deaths were also recorded. Out of the 64 total confirmed cases, the number of remaining active cases is now only two. (PNA)
Photo Credit: www.dilg.gov.ph
