Residents who were traced to have been exposed to persons who tested positive of COVID-19 undergo swab tests by City Health Office personnel at Magsaysay Park in Davao City on Friday (June 4, 2021). MindaNews photo by MANMAN DEJETO
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 06 September) — The City Assessor’s Office (CAO) and the Hall of Justice here were placed on total lockdown effective Monday, 6 September, to stem the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) after several employees were tested positive of the virus, officials said.
Mayor Sara Duterte said during her program over Davao City Disaster Radio (DCDR 87.5) on Monday that 16 employees tested positive for the virus.
She added that a retrofitting would be done to fix the ventilation of the office during the lockdown period to help fight the spread of the virus.
On Sunday, the city government announced that the CAO will be locked down for five days from September 6 to 10. Clients have been told to course their requests for certified true copy of their tax declaration at its district offices in Talomo, Toril, Calinan and Bunawan.
The Davao City Hall of Justice, on the other hand, will be locked down for 11 days until September 17, according to Emmanuel C. Carpio, presiding judge of the Davao City Regional Trial Court (RTC).
In a letter addressed to Supreme Court Administrator Jose Midas P. Marquez dated September 5, Carpio said the lockdown was recommended by the City Health Office “to arrest the avalanche of contamination, spread and infection of the unabated COVID-19 virus and its surging variants.”
Carpio said that results of surveillance swabbing last September 2 and 3 showed that 12 personnel tested positive for COVID-19, five of whom are from five different offices of the Municipal Trial Court in Cities; one from RTC Branch 9; one from RTC Branch 10; two from RTC Branch 13; and three from the Regional State Prosecution Office.
He added that RTC Branches 11, 16 and 33 are still on lockdown.
Carpio said the disinfection of the entire Hall of Justice building would be scheduled.
As of Sunday, the Department of Health – Davao reported 1,123 new cases, bringing the total cases to 73,632 with 14,651 active, 56,704 recoveries and 2,277 deaths.
Out of the total cases, Davao City, the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic in Mindanao, logged 39,983 cases with 6,712 active, 39,983 recoveries and 1,246 deaths. Davao de Oro tallied 4,977 cases, Davao del Norte with 13,026, Davao del Sur with 7,509, Davao Occidental with 2,284 and Davao Oriental with 5,853. (Antonio Colina IV / MindaNews)