Three vital government offices in Tagbilaran City have started to normalize operations after these were crippled by the spread of COVID-19 among their personnel.
Mayor Baba Yap on Thuesday said that the Tagbilaran City Police Station (TCPS) has reopened while the City Traffic Management Office (CTMO) and City Disaster Risk Reduction Office (CDRRMO) partially restarted operations.
“Operational na ang Tagbilaran City Police Station, ang CDRRMO namalik na ang ubang taw and atoang mga traffic enforcers naka-deploy gihapon sa atoang mga kadalanan,” he said.
According to TCPS chief Lt. Col. Mary Peralta, they reopened the police station on Thursday morning after they were cleared to resume operations by the City Health Office, but precautions were still implemented.
The TCPS was placed on lockdown starting Thursday last week due to the sudden surge in COVID-19 cases in the office.
Peralta said services are being offered at the Saulog Gymnasium located near the TCPS to allay fears from the public considering their office’s recent lockdown, while processing of police clearances is conducted outside of the station.
“Yung public kasi, baka matakot sila so nandun pa din yung fear kaya ginawa natin lahat muna ng blotter, doon muna sa gym, except sa police clearance kasi nasa labas naman,” said Peralta.
Out of the 126 personnel of the TCPS, 15 remained positive for COVID-19 including 12 police officers, one non-uniformed personnel and two casual employees.
Peralta said some of the infected personnel were asymptomatic while others experienced mild symptoms but were already recovering.
The rest of the TCPS employees have already tested negative through RT-PCR testing (Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction).
However, detainees of the station’s lock-up facility were still awaiting results of their tests.
Meanwhile, City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) chief Gerard Lavadia said they started to partially resume operations, which were affected by the spread of COVID-19 among the office’s personnel.
According to Lavadia, one medical team manning the CDDRMO’s emergency response was redeployed on Wednesday.
“Wala ra maputol to amoang hotline operations sige pa gihapon mi og accept og calls…Unya naa tay usa ka team sa EMS na nakabalik na gahapon pero dili pa full ni kay undermanned pa mi kaayo,” said Lavadia.
Lavadia said some 20 of the CDRRMO’s 70 personnel tested positive for COVID-19, but four have already recovered.
Meanwhile, TaRSIER 117, the province’s emergency response arm, continued to assist the CDRRMO in handling emergency cases.
According to Yap, the CTMO remained on lockdown, but he assured that traffic enforcers have still been reporting for duty to man the city’s traffic.
The CTMO earlier announced that only personnel assigned inside their office tested positive for COVID-19. (R. Tutas)