QC convent under lockdown, 64 nuns, 54 staffers have COVID
THE Quezon City government has placed a convent under Special Concern Lockdown (SCL) after 54 members of its staff and 64 nuns were tested positive for COVID-19.
QC Epidemiology and Disease Surveillance Unit (CESU) Chief, Dr. Rolando Cruz said they are now conducting massive contract tracing efforts to identify those individuals with whom they have in contact with the staff and nuns at the Religious of the Virgin Mary convent located in Cubao.
Cruz added that they are also now looking into the possible cause of the COVID -19 outbreak at the convent.
He disclosed that his team became aware of the situation after the cases were recorded in the surveillance data reported by a testing laboratory.
“Hindi po tayo ang nag-swab sa kanila. Nagpa-test po sila sa iba at nang lumabas na ang resulta sa laboratory, na-record ito sa surveillance data. Now, our team is conducting an investigation and intensive contact tracing to get more details about the matter,” said Cruz.
He added that part of the ongoing investigation is to determine if any of the positive individuals had any close contact with anyone outside of their facility. The RVM was placed under SCL since Tuesday.
Following a similar incident last week where more than 100 individuals from an orphanage, including children, tested positive for Covid 19, Mayor Joy Belmonte has directed CESU to make an inventory of all closed-setting facilities in the city.
These closed-setting facilities include nursing homes, homes for the aged, rehabilitation facilities, shelters for streetchildren, halfway homes for victims of violence and abuse, hospices, and correctional facilities among others.
Likewise, Belmonte ordered the CESU to be more proactive in conducting testing and reviewing the health protocols being observed by these caring facilities and other high-risk institutions.
The City Architect and the Department of the Building Official were also tapped to recommend ways in which these facilities can retrofit their buildings to make them more resistant to virus transmission.
Belmonte also reminded the public, especially administrators of facilities with confined and closed settings to observe minimum health protocols at all times and to report immediately to CESU or the barangay as soon as someone within their community is manifesting symptoms so infections can be rapidly curtailed.
“Patuloy po ang pagpapaalala natin na doblehin ang pag-iingat at agad na tumawag sa ating CESU kung may nakitaan ng sintomas sa inyong mga kasama. Mahalaga na maaga at maagap ang ating pagkilos para maiwasan ang mas maraming hawahan. Lagi naman tayong nakahandang rumesponde,” said Belmonte.
