368 contact tracers ready for deployment
Starting this week, 368 newly-hired contact tracers will be deployed by the local government as an additional force of the City’s existing Contact Tracing Teams (CTTs) in a bid to possibly curb the number of COVID-19 positive cases in the City of Koronadal.
All of them had undergone a health orientation prior to their deployment spearheaded by OIC- City Health Officer Dr. Edito Vego. During the orientation, the proper health and safety protocols that contact tracers will do when they were in the field were discussed, such as to alert contact to the possibility of infection, offer preventive counselling, diagnosis, and treatment to already infected individual.
City Mayor Eliordo U. Ogena expressed his support for the program due to the vital role that contact tracers will play, which will be the key to the rapid identification of patients.
“Malaki ang gagampanan niyo na papel sa Koronadal City. You prove yourself effective and efficient, less restrictions in the movement and more economic activities will be in the City. We will enforce the protocols. The idea is to minimize, as much as possible, tung mga mag positive para ang trabaho sang contact tracer, mabawasan na,” Mayor Ogena said.
The local chief executive also appealed to the public for cooperation with the contact tracers to hasten the process of tracing people who were in close contact with COVID-19 patients and protect the lives and jobs of the residents while moving towards the “new normal.”
The new contact tracers will be assigned to the various CTTs in the 27 barangays of the city led by the City Health Officer with members from the Koronadal PNP, Bureau of Fire Protection, and Barangay Health Emergency Response Teams (BHERTs).
Contact tracers will earn a minimum of P18,734 per month with a contract of service status.