The Mandaue City Police Office (MCPO) logo. | File from Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7)
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Thirteen policemen assigned at the Mandaue City Police Office (MCPO) are now under isolation after they tested positive for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Police Colonel Jonathan Abella, MCPO director, said all of the 13 policemen are currently asymptomatic.
“Nigawas ang result the other day. Amo na sila nga gipang-pull-out sa ilang respective nga mga duties tapos naa na sila sa isolation center sa Mandaue,” Abella said on Wednesday, July 1, 2020.
(Their test results were released the other day. We already had them pulled out from their respective duties and transferred them Mandaue’s isolation center.)
“Naa na sa isolation nato ang uban atong gi-home isolation ang kadtong nipasar ilang balay sa standard sa home isolation,” he added.
(Some of them were allowed to undergo home isolation provided that their homes pass the standards imposed for home isolations.)
To date, there are now a total of 17 police personnel at MCPO who have tested positive for COVID-19.
Read: Detainee with COVID-19 leads to Mandaue Police Station 5 lockdown
Four of them, coming from Police Station 5 in Barangay Opao, were believed to have caught the virus from one of its detainees who earlier tested positive for COVID-19. Station 5 had been under lockdown since last June 11.
Read: 3 policemen, 3 detainees in Mandaue are COVID-19 positive
Calls for assistance and other alarms that fall within their area of jurisdiction are being referred to the command center and the second nearest police station, Abella said.
Abella said they also continue to practice minimum health protocols to prevent more infection from among their ranks.
“Ato lang gihimo nga health standards are the wearing of face mask, face shield, gloves, unya sige pod tag disinfect sa mga offices,” Abella said.
(We strictly comply with health standards like the wearing of masks, face shields, and gloves and we also regularly disinfect our offices.)
Mandaue City, currently under a general community quarantine, has a total of 807 COVID-19 cases as of June 30, of which 535 are active cases. / dcb