1 coronavirus-infected employee forces Zambo City Hall closure for decontamination

DISINFECTION A local government worker makes the rounds among offices of the Zamboanga City Hall to disinfect the entire building after an employee tested positive for COVID-19. —ZAMBOANGA CITY GOVERNMENT FB

ZAMBOANGA CITY—The city hall has shut its doors to the public starting on Wednesday (July 15) for disinfection after one employee tested positive for SARS Cov2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

Sheila Covarrubias, information officer of the local task force against COVID-19, said a skeletal workforce was maintained at the Centro Latino at Paseo del Mar at the village of Rio Hondo to continue city government operations.

No date was given when city hall will reopen, only that it normal operations would resume after disinfection.

Local government offices located outside the city hall continue to operate.

The infected employee, a resident of Tetuan village, has been brought to a private hospital on July 14.

The city has recorded a total of 342 COVID-19 cases. At least 10 of the patients have died, including a year-old infant.

At least 69 of the cases were believed to be results of community transmission while 55 were from stranded residents returning to the city and 22 were those of inmates or former inmates at the city jail.

The spike in the number of cases has worried many residents that the city might revert to stricter quarantine measures.

TSB