A COVID-19 outbreak has hit the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital operating room complex in Bacolod City, while a department head and national agency official in Cadiz City also tested positive for the virus.
Elective surgeries at the CLMMRH operating room complex have temporarily been suspended.
A symptomatic OR personnel tested positive for COVID-19 on April 12. The personnel was allegedly exposed to her parents who had symptoms, a report submitted by Dr. Joan E. Cerrada said.
Two other OR staff later also tested positive prompting an outbreak investigation. It was not specified how they were infected.
A total of nine OR personnel were confirmed to have COVID-19 mild infection, based on their PCR results, the report said.
Seven were symptomatic and two were asymptomatic, it added.
The COVID-19 outbreak in the OR Complex will be declared over when there will be no new documented COVID-19 cases of possible institutional transmission 28 days from April 17, the report said.
Mayor Salvador Escalante Jr. who ordered the mandatory wearing of face masks in government offices in Cadiz City, on Monday said a city department head and a head of a national office tested positive for COVID-19.
They are in the process of contact tracing, he said.
He ordered the wearing of face masks because people who come in and out of government offices are not being careful, stressing that it is better be cautious.
He stressed the need to wear masks in public places, especially if one is comorbid or a senior citizen.
This is one way of reminding people that COVID-19 is still with us, it may not be as potent as it was before but it is good to stay healthy, he said.*