Extraction of the construction workers from a site where a COVID-19 outbreak was recorded. | Photo courtesy of the Cebu City PIO
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The high cases of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) recorded in Cebu City on Tuesday, June 15, 2021, has been attributed to an outbreak in a construction site.
Councilor Joel Garganera, the deputy chief implementor of the Emergency Operations Center, said in a press conference on Tuesday morning, that a construction site along the boundary of Barangay Lahug and Barangay Apas recorded 49 COVID-19 positive workers.
The cases were detected during contact tracing after one of the workers proved positive to the Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) during their regular testing last week.
The 49 workers belonged to one shift that was scheduled to replace the workers on the site. The test result was found before they could be integrated into the site.
“Mga 130 to 160 ang giswab. It turned out 49 ang positive, and 46 niani mga Cebu City residents. And usa tua taga Toledo City and duha taga Mandaue City, pero together ni silag gipuy-an,” said Garganera.
At least 47 of the workers were isolated at the Guadalupe Barangay Isolation Center (BIC) after being extracted on Monday evening, June 14, 2021, from their construction site.
Despite the outbreak, Garganera said the construction site had been meticulous in handling the situation with the health infection and prevention control officer (HIPCO) taking charge immediately after the outbreak was reported.
The extraction was smooth as well as the construction site already had a protocol in the extraction of COVID-19 positive workers.
Garganera said that most construction workers are very strict in their safety protocols, which is why the EOC is not worried about certain outbreaks in these sites as they already have a protocol to contain the spread only to one shift of workers.
For now, Garganera reminds the construction site to revisit its safety plans to avoid any outbreak.
He said that outbreaks can be prevented through proper testing and isolation of incoming shifts. Outbreaks must immediately be managed as well when detected. /rcg