PHILIPPINE National Police chief General Debold M. Sinas yesterday said there are still a total of 439 active COVID-19 cases in the force being monitored by the PNP Health Service amid efforts to ensure that police personnel, especially those assigned in Metro Manila which remains the center of the pandemic, will be tested for the virus.
As of yesterday, there have been 27 COVID-19 deaths in the PNP since last March 16 although 8,112 of the 8,578 policemen who contracted the virus have already fully recovered from the disease are now back on duty. Of the 27 COVID-19 deaths in the PNP, one is from Camp Crame, 10 from different PNP National Operational Support Units while 16 are from the Police Regional Offices.
PNP-HS director Brigadier Gen. Nolasco K. Bathan said there were 11,631 policemen who were monitored to have been infected by the virus but 1,222 of them were described as Persons Under Monitoring or with close contact with infected ones wile 932 are suspected Persons Under Investigation and 899 are Probable PUIs.
Of the 439 ‘active cases,’ 99 are assigned at the PNP National Headquarters; 124 in different NOSUs s while 216 are from the different PROs.
Gen. Sinas said that of the 439, a total of 25 policemen are still in hospital while 414 are currently confined in PNP quarantine facilities,
Of the recovered cases, 204 are from the NHQ; 2,200 from different NSUs and 5,708 from the different PROs.
COVID-19 testing
On orders of Gen. Sinas, the Administrative Support for COVID-19 Task Force (ASCOTF) headed by Lieutenant Gen. Guillermo Lorenzo T. Eleazar said it has initiated an aggressive mass testing of PNP personnel in a bid to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in various police units especially in areas with high cases of the virus.
Eleazar, also the PNP Deputy Chief for Administration, said the aggressive mass testing wherein the result will be released within 24-hours after fluid samples are taken will also protect the family of police personnel and the community they live in since early detection is important in addressing the pandemic
“We have to maximize the conduct of mass testing among our personnel. In this way, we would be able to immediately isolate those who would be tested positive and give them proper care and eventually stop the transfer of the virus,” the official said.
Eleazar however said that with the main thrust of Gen. Sinas on aggressive testing, they expect the number of COVID-19 patients in the police force to rise.
“We are expecting na tataas o dadami ang magpositive, but it is just logical dahil nagtetest ng madami. Nakita na namin na maraming nagpositive pero asymptomatic, hindi nila alam na me virus sila,. Kaya don’t be alarmed if the number goes up,” he said.
The official said they want an aggressive mass testing in order to save the police, their family and the rest of the community they live and serve.
As of yesterday, he said that 38.7 percent of the police force have been subjected to a COVID-19 testing at least once, with the concentration in Metro Manila with its 38,000 policemen and non-uniformed personnel coming from the National Capital Region Police Office and the PNP National Headquarters in Camp Crame as well as around 4,500 personnel from different PNP National Operatonal Support Units assigned in the metropolis.
