*Usual business operation continues despite positive cases
LAOAG CITY (Sept. 16) –The Provincial Government of Ilocos Norte (PGIN), in coordination with the Municipal Government of San Nicolas, has recommended placing employees of a Business Processing and Outsourcing (BPO) company under a “lock-in” work set up to contain the virus outbreak while usual business operation continues.
As of this writing, seven (7) customer service representatives (CSRs) from the said BPO company located at nearby San Nicolas town were tested positive for COVID-19.
All of them are currently subjected to proper treatment and monitoring.
“Initially, it was deemed safe na ‘yong 4th floor lang ang ma-lockdown kasi iyon lang ang affected at wala raw masyadong inter-floor movement. But with the additional cases, our doctors thought that it is necessary to lock-in the employees,” Governor Matthew Marcos Manotoc disclosed during his virtual press briefing this morning.
The BPO employees will undergo a 10-day strict quarantine inside the building while usual business operation continues. Also, the company will be providing necessities such as food, shelter, and beddings to its staff.
To protect the safety of the surrounding communities, the local health team of San Nicolas will regularly monitor the employees, ensuring that they remain inside of the building.
Moreover, expanded-targeted RT-PCR testing has also been scheduled in the BPO company to detect silent carriers of the virus.
PGIN suspends entry of LSIs for one week
The entry of Locally Stranded Individuals (LSIs) to Ilocos Norte has been suspended from September 13 until September 18 to decongest the quarantine facilities in the province.
“Iilan na lang ang available quarantine rooms sa probinsya kaya humingi kami ng one week moratorium sa mga LSIs through the Department of the Interior and Local Government. Lilinawin ko lang po, hindi po kasama ang Returning Overseas Filipinos (ROFs) sa moratorium,” Governor Manotoc explained.
“Many of our quarantiners will be graduating this week. So we anticipate that after September 18, we will have more vacant beds in our facilities and we can continue admitting our residents,” he added.
To date, PGIN has assisted 4,700 LSIs and 1,800 ROFs.
“I want to thank our kakailian for remaining disciplined and patient throughout this difficult time…I hope everyone is at peace and not too worried. Let’s take care of our bodies and our minds,” Governor Manotoc ended.—(Blessing Angel V. Agliam, PGIN-CMO)
