COVID-19 outbreak at QC seminary reported
ANOTHER outbreak of COVID-19 cases at Catholic facility in Quezon City wherein half of its population have been afflicted has been reported.
Dr. Rolando Cruz, chief of the QC Epidemiology and Disease Surveillance Unit (QCESU), said the outbreak was at the Christ the King Mission Seminary located along E. Rodriguez Sr. Avenue.
Cruz disclosed the facility has a population of 59 individuals. Of these, 34 tested negative while 25 were positive for COVID-19.
The positive cases were composed of nine priests and 16 employees.
As of Sept. 18, 11 of these positive cases have recovered, 13 remain active, and one has succumbed to COVID.
The casualty was reported to be a priest who was one of two index cases that were recorded on Sept. 3.
Cruz added that only the seminary’s Villa Cristo Rey and Fininman Building were placed under Special Concern Lockdown (SCL) since Sept.18.
This brings the total number of religious facilities under lockdown to four. The other three are the Stella Maris Convent (since Sept. 10); Religious of the Virgin Mary (Sept. 14), and Convent of the Holy Spirit (Sept. 15).
Meanwhile, the city government has started creating a set of guidelines on ventilation for buildings and workplaces to prevent and control the spread of COVID-19.
Mayor Joy Belmonte said that this joint undertaking by the Department of the Building Official, City Architect, and the City Engineering Department is the local government’s latest effort to prevent COVID outbreaks especially in closed-settings and long-term care facilities.
“We will send these guidelines to building administrators in the city so they will learn how to better retrofit their facilities and make these more resistant to virus transmission,” she said.
The Office of the City Mayor also attended to the needs of the facility’s residents by sending paracetamol, vitamins, hygiene kits, face masks, alcohol, soap, rice, and food packs among others.
