Article by:
Liza Agoot
BAGUIO CITY – The city government has partnered with the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) for a three-day aggressive and targeted community testing for the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
City Public Information Officer Aileen Refuerzo, in a phone interview Tuesday night, said the aggressive community testing would be held at the Melvin Jones Grandstand on January 13-15.
Refuerzo said the BCDA has identified 25 sectors in the towns of La Trinidad, Itogon, Sablan, Tuba, and Tublay in Benguet province that would complete the 5,000 individuals to be subjected to reverse transcription - polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests.
Among the identified targets are uniformed personnel, staff of national line agencies, private clinic and dialysis center employees, construction workers, food handlers, market vendors and porters, barangay health emergency response teams, personnel of the city government’s general services offices, environment management office, and public orders and safety division.
Also asked to undergo testing are security guards, bank personnel, business process outsourcing personnel, contact tracers, grocery employees, drivers, church workers, hotel workers, staff of delivery trucks, hog dealers, sari-sari store owners, gasoline station personnel, restaurant workers, isolation facility workers, and members of the vaccination team.
Refuerzo, citing Mayor Benjamin Magalong's remarks, said the identified target sectors are the ones who are in direct contact with many people.
The city has been regularly conducting testing since the pandemic began in 2020 as part of efforts to detect and isolate virus carriers.
She said the city opted to conduct another Covid-19 testing drive to address the current spike in cases believed to be caused by the Omicron variant. (PNA)
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