SAN JOSE CITY – A 30-year-old unemployed man was recorded as the city’s first COVID-19-related death, it was reported yesterday.
This developed as City Mayor Mario “Kokoy” Salvador ordered to tap their counterparts in the barangays to strengthen the contact-tracing capabilities of the city government as part of efforts to contain the spread of the dreaded COVID-19 within the city.
Salvador said the city’s first COVID-19 fatality was tagged as Patient #12, a resident of Rufina Homes 4, Bgy. Sto. Niňo 2nd.
Another confirmed infection, named as Patient#13, a 40-year-old contract laborer, of Bgys. Crisanto Sanchez and Calaocan, and a recipient of the government’s Social Amelioration Program, is also being monitored by the city health office.
Extensive contact-tracing is now being conducted amid reports that the said patient also went to the Pag-Asa gymnasium and later to the MLhullier in Bgy. Malasin to claim his SAP payout on August 25.
With the activation of contact-tracers in the barangays, Salvador said he saw the need to put up more contact tracing teams to help assist the local government unit in preventing the spread of the virus.
On Tuesday, Salvador led the one-day simultaneous orientation and training done by the LGU-contact tracers for their barangay counterparts at the City Hall building and at the city health office conference room.
The mayor said the new participant-trainees from the city’s 38 barangays were divided into eight clusters and were taught the basics of always maintaining strict patient confidentiality as well as the salient features of the Data Privacy Act.
Last July, the city contact-tracing team underwent a “virtual orientation and training on contact tracing” along with other LGUs nationwide and the inputs derived from it are now being utilized by city government to combat the spread of the coronavirus-19 disease.
