KIDAPAWAN CITY (MindaNews / 29 Sep) – The temporary closure of a branch office of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) here is extended up to October 7, an advisory from the agency said.
The management first issued an advisory on September 25 after three of its employees tested positive of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) to perform massive disinfection of the office.
The closure should have been lifted on Monday but quarantine officials in North Cotabato told the management to continue its disinfection to ensure safety of their clients and employees.
Dr. Philbert Malaluan, Cotabato Second District Board Member who is also commander of the incident command and public information officer of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on COVID-19, hinted there could be local transmission of the virus among GSIS Kidapawan employees.
In a radio interview over Ronda News, Malaluan said the virus could have been transmitted by an APOR or Authorized Person Outside Residence who frequented Davao City but was not compelled to undergo mandatory quarantine.
“This is one of the challenges we’re facing with APORs. We are calling them to exercise prudence when going in and out of the province. If there’s no reason for you to travel outside the border, then better stay at home,” Malaluan said.
He, however, refused to identify the APOR.
Two weeks ago, swab samples were taken from GSIS Kidapawan employees for the Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) tests as part of the order coming from their higher authorities.
Malaluan said these specimens were submitted to One World COVID-19 Testing Facility in Davao City to which three tested positive.
Meantime, employees were advised to stay at home for their mandatory quarantine while doing the ‘work-from-home’ job.
Those positive of the virus were placed at different isolation facilities in the province. Of the three, one resides in Makilala, one in nearby Matalam town, and the other in Kidapawan City.
All of them, according to Malaluan, are all asymptomatic and are in stable condition. (Malu Cadelina Manar / MindaNews)