PRO-7: 64 infected police trainees now COVID-19 free

The 300 new police trainees of Police Regional Office in Central Visayas or PRO-7 are seen at the training center in Barangay Jugan, Consolacion town in northern Cebu in this 2018 photo . | CDN file photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Only 30 Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7) police trainees out of the 500, who tested positive of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), are still recovering from the virus at the recovery center in the Regional Training Center at Barangay Jugan, Consolacion Cebu.

This developed after 64 police trainees were released from the center on Thursday, August 13, 2020 after testing negative of COVID-19.

Police Brigadier General Albert Ignatius Ferro, PRO-7 director, said this would put the recovery rate of the infected PRO-7 police trainees at 90 percent.

The recovered police trainees will immediately be reintegrated back to training in Regional Training Center (RTC).

Read: More PRO-7 personnel recover from COVID-19

These police trainees were swab tested last July 17 and were isolated starting July 21 to August 12. The second swab test was conducted last August 7 and the results came out on August 11 which showed that all 64 have tested negative of the virus.

“While you were isolated, you bear the power of friends and police, who became your family, they share your sadness, and loneliness… in this ceremony, you will share the happiness of overcoming the disease,and as a family, the PRO-7 will always be here,” said Ferro in his speech read by Police Colonel Mafelino Bazar, PRO-7 deputy regional director for administration, during the short ceremony of the release of the police trainees for being free of the virus.

For the 30 police trainees recovering from the virus, the PRO-7 are awaiting the results of their tests which are expected to come out next week./dbs