Gov’t targets to hire 50,000 contact tracers starting July
MANILA, Philippines — The government is eyeing to hire some 50,000 COVID-19 contact tracers starting July, Malacañang said Thursday.
“Nakausap ko po dyan si [Interior] Secretary [Eduardo] Año dahil sila po ang mag-iimplement ng tracing. July po ang target nila na mag-hire. Initially, they will hire 50,000 tracers,” Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said in an online briefing.
(I talked to Secretary Año regarding this since they are the ones who will implement the tracing. They have targeted to start hiring in July. Initially, they will hire 50,000 tracers.)
Contact tracers track down those who had close contact with individuals who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 which causes COVID-19.
In President Rodrigo Duterte’s report to Congress on the use of his additional powers Monday, he said over 15,000 individuals have already been trained to conduct contact tracing.
Previously, the Department of Health (DOH) said it is still short of about 94,000 contact tracers for COVID-19 to achieve the ideal ratio of one contact tracer per 800 persons.
DOH said the country only has about 34,000 contact tracers so far.
As of Wednesday, the Philippines has recorded 23,732 COVID-19 cases with 1,027 deaths and 4,895 recoveries.
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