All regional trial court (RTC) judges and personnel stationed in courts at the Manila City Hall building were ordered to go on self-quarantine after two court employees were found to have been in contact with close relatives positive for COVID-19.
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Manila Executive Judge Virgilio Macaraig ordered the concerned judges and court staff to undergo self-quarantine from Thursday, June 18, to June 30.
He also directed for the staff to conduct tracing of all persons they may have been in contact with at the court premises for the last two weeks.
Judges may decide whether or not to proceed with in-court hearings scheduled for Thursday, Macaraig said in a memo that was confirmed by Supreme Court spokesman Brian Keith Hosaka. – Willie Casas, Rey E. Requejo
80,000 contact tracers needed
More than 80,000 contact tracers are needed as part of the government’s efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19, according to the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Thursday.
“Given that there is still no vaccine or cure to COVID-19, the government needs to train and hire contact tracers who will break the chains of transmission of COVID-19 by identifying those who may have been exposed to the virus and monitoring them daily for 14 days,” DILG Secretary Eduardo Año said.
Año said he has submitted a proposal to the Inter-agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease (IATF-MEID) for the hiring and training of contact tracers.
“We are waiting for the approval of the IATF-MEID so that our LGUs can start hiring and training contact tracers in their localities. We need to be one step ahead and ready with the required number of contact tracers rather than be caught off guard when the need for contact tracers arises in case of a second wave,” he said.
BI employees tested
At least 1,100 Immigration employees have undergone rapid antibody testing since last week when the agency ordered the mandatory testing of all its personnel for COVID-19.
BI Commissioner Jaime Morente said only about a third of the bureau’s more than 3,000 employees have yet to undergo the tests for the coronavirus as some 1,000 employees had voluntarily submitted themselves in previous tests conducted by the bureau’s medical section.
“We will continue to conduct these tests for our employees until all of them are tested. We have to make sure that our front liners are not infected with this virus,” Morente said.
Manila villages locked down
Three barangays in Manila will be placed under a 48-hour hard lockdown, the Manila Public Information Office (PIO) said on Wednesday.
These barangays are Barangay 60, Zone 5; Barangay 163. Zone 14; and Barangay 844, Zone 92. The hard lockdown will begin from 12 midnight of June 19 until 11:59 p.m. of June 20.
The Manila PIO said this will be done for the conduct of expanded targeted testing and to ensure that the spread of COVID-19 cases will be prevented.
Tourism sites warned vs violations
The recent violation of quarantine protocol by a set of travelers to Boracay Island has sparked renewed vigilance by local government units to check the compliance of tourism establishments with government quarantine guidelines.
The local government unit of San Juan, La Union has conducted spot inspections among tourism stakeholders in its popular beach and surfing area and clamped down on enterprises that have violated national and local government issuances during the period of quarantine.
The LGU temporarily closed a local bar until minimum health and safety protocols were in place such as physical distancing and implementation of a local ordinance on noise pollution.
The Tourism Department also inspected accommodation establishments to check if they have already applied for a certificate of authority to operate as mandated by the IATF-EID.
Pasay wants curfew eased
Pasay City Mayor Imelda Rubiano on Thursday urged members of the city council to pass a resolution to ease curfew hours in the city.
Rubiano said the adjustment would help businesses recoup losses during the lockdown, saying the health crisis has already hurt a huge number of business establishments in the city, particularly those in the food and retail industries.
At present, the city imposes a curfew for all persons between 8 p.m. to 5 a.m.
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