MANILA, Philippines — The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Friday said it is eyeing to hire 100,000 contact tracers by the end of July as the country continues to grapple with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
In a televised briefing, DILG spokesperson undersecretary Jonathan Malaya said there are so far about 50,000 contact tracers nationwide who track down the close contacts of individuals who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus which causes COVID-19.
“Araw araw pong nadadagdagan ito, meron mga volunteers din po tayong tumutulong sa atin. Pero ang gusto talaga natin ay madoble ito, lumagpas ito sa 100,000,” Malaya said.
(The number increases every day. There are also volunteers who are helping us. But we want to increase the number to over 100,000.)
Malaya said DILG is just waiting for the funds for the hiring of the 50,000 additional contact tracers.
“Ang target po sana ng DILG ay makapag hire kami before the end of the month, mahire na po natin ito dahil kinakailangan po natin itong mga contact tracers na ito para madeploy na natin kaagad agad, especially dun sa mga hanggang ngayon ay tumataas pa rin na numero ng mga COVID positive patients,” he added.
(The DILG is targetting to hire them before the end of the month because we need the contact tracers deployed immediately, especially in areas where the number of COVID-19 cases continues to rise.)
Malacañang earlier said it is eyeing to allocate P17 billion for the hiring of 50,000 contact tracers. It however said that the passage of Bayanihan 2 is needed for the budget to be utilized.