BY ADRIAN P. NEMES III
The number of policemen in Bacolod who have tested positive for Covid-19 rose to 58, as of yesterday.
Bacolod City Police Office spokesperson, P/Lt Liberty Indiape, said the results were released following the continuous surveillance testing being conducted by the city government and the Philippine Red Cross.
The policemen, who have been infected, are now isolated in various quarantine facilities in Bacolod, Indiape said.
Despite the increase in the number of infected policemen, Indiape said there is no vacuum in the police force as they are being augmented by other units.
In Police Station 4, where 15 policemen were infected with Covid, 10 personnel from the Bacolod City Mobile Force Company were deployed as augmentation force, she said.
BCPO HEAD NEGATIVE
BCPO director, P/Col Manuel Placido, meanwhile, tested negative for Covid-19.
Em Ang, Emergency Operations Center executive director, earlier said that they do not consider the rising cases of infected policemen as work transmission or an outbreak.
Ang said most of the policemen, who contracted the virus, were assigned in the field.
They will finish the surveillance testing of the 7,600 policemen of Bacolod as no other sectors were scheduled for testing next week yet, she added.
Ang also said that there are no new additional reported cases of Covid infection among city government employees.
The EOC also reported a decrease in hospital utilization rates for Covid patients to 67.31 percent in Bacolod, as of yesterday.
Two weeks ago, the utilization rates of hospital beds for Covid patients stood at 82 percent.
Ang said that, of the 67 percent, 60 percent are residents of Bacolod while the rest came from neighboring cities and towns.
The bed utilization data was gathered through the One Hospital Command Center of the EOC.
The OHCC was established through the leadership of EOC Task Force head, Mayor Evelio Leonardia, to ensure available hospital beds for individuals with severe Covid-19 symptoms seeking hospital care and treatment.
The OHCC aims to facilitate the transmission of critical and medical information from hospitals to the EOC on a daily basis.
Such data are then used to manage the healthcare capacity of the city.
It proves helpful in decongesting hospitals and providing available beds to better accommodate moderate to critical Covid-19 patients.
Ang reminded all Bacolodnons to follow the minimum health protocols, like the wearing of face masks and face shields, and observing social distancing.
Ang said these simple practices could mitigate the transmission of Covid-19.
She added that people must avoid “super-spreader” events, like mass gatherings, to lessen “person-to-person” transmission.
OIC-City Health Officer, Dr. Edwin Miraflor, meanwhile, is encouraging all Bacolodnons to register in the Covid-19 vaccination program online, or through their barangays.*
