The Quezon City government will hire 1,347 contact tracers under the Department of Labor and Employment’s (DOLE) emergency employment program.

During the orientation given by the Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (CESU) at the Quezon Memorial Circle on Monday, Mayor Joy Belmonte recognized the importance of contact tracers in the fight against the dreaded coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).

“Contact tracers ang pinakasusi para mapigilan na natin itong pagkalat pa ng virus sa ating mga komunidad. Balewala ang lockdown kung hindi mabilis at maagap ang pagkilos ng contact tracing army ng lungsod (are the keys to mitigating the spread of the virus in our community. The lockdowns we are doing will be of no value if our contact tracing army is not alert),” she said.

The contact tracers, hired through DOLE’s Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers program, increased the city’s assets to 2,600.

The city government will provide their needs, such as protective gear, and other necessities in the performance of their duties.

Belmonte recalled improving their contact tracing capabilities when the Department of the Interior and Local Government also deployed 1,300 contact tracers last year.

“Contact tracers were able to identify up to 30 close contacts per Covid-19 positive,” she said. (PNA)