Contact tracing efforts in the country have improved as 94% of probable cases are traced daily and 91% are isolated within 24 hours by contact tracing teams nationwide, said the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).
DILG Secretary Eduardo M. Año said that this fast turn-around time is achieved through the 110,378 contact tracers (CTs) that cater to our 105-million population.
“Kita sa mga datos na maganda po ang contact tracing sa ating komunidad at kanayunan. Malaking tulong dito ang ating mga LGUs, BHERTS at mga pulis dahil mas mabilis na nating matukoy ang mga close contacts ng kumpirmadong kaso ng COVID-19,” Año said.
In a recent report submitted to Año from the DILG Central Emergency Operations Center (EOC), he said that 14,756 out of 15,635 probable cases/suspects are traced within 24 hours and 14,266 (91%) of them are isolated in the same period. Meanwhile, 6,769 out of 8,139 (83%) of the confirmed cases are traced and 6,410 (79%) of them are isolated or quarantined in that span of time.
In NCR Plus, which has already exhibited a downward trend, Año said 26,234 contact tracers have been deployed so far. Of which, 11,182 (97%) out of 11,524 suspected/probable cases are traced within 24 hours and 10,814 (94%) are isolated in the same period. A total of 4,158 (90%) of the confirmed COVID-19 cases are traced within 24 hours and 4,121 (89%) are immediately quarantined within 24 hours.
The DILG Chief said hiring additional contact tracers may no longer be a priority of some LGUs considering limited resources and their shift of focus to COVID-19 vaccination roll-out.
“Our contact tracers are our heroes in the fight against COVID-19. Without them we would be losing this battle. Mabuhay po kayo!” he said
He also commended the LGUs for ramping up the vaccination roll-out nationwide that led to the 1.1 million doses of vaccine consumed last week, a record that allowed the country to surpass the 5 million mark.
“Our LGUs all over the country have risen to the challenge of vaccination. As more vaccine supplies arrive, they are able to make adjustments and expand their operations as we proceed to mass vaccination,” he said.
He said that the National Task Force is working closely with the concerned LGUs and private sector with a goal of vaccinating 70% of the NCR+8 eligible population by November 2021, and the rest of the country next year.
“While more supplies are sent to NCR + 8, we will still continue to ship supplies to all parts of the country, especially the provincial centers of gravity where a spike of cases has been recorded,” he said.
He said that more than 5 million Filipinos have received a COVID 19 dose. There has been no confirmed case of death caused by a COVID 19 vaccine and any serious side effect to any of the vaccines in the country is rare. (DILG) -rir
