MANILA, Philippines — Navotas City will begin prioritizing free swab testing for workers who have higher risk of transmission of COVID-19 to quickly trace and identify patients positive for the disease.
In a tweet on Monday, Navotas Mayor Toby Tiangco said he signed Executive Order No. 040 series of 2020 on July 26 which allows “prioritizing the conduct of free RT-PCR (Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction) for members of certain industries.”
“We signed an Executive Order which states that our community testing is a priority and there is no need for quarantine after undergoing the following tests,” Tiangco said.
Pinirmahan po natin ang Executive Order No. TMT-040 na nagsasaad na prayoridad sa ating community testing at hindi na kailangan mag-quarantine pagkatapos sumailalim sa test ang mga sumusunod: pic.twitter.com/QHYGPUHP2d
— Toby Tiangco (@TobyTiangco) July 26, 2020
Under the order, high-risk workers who would immediately avail free testing include drivers of public utility jeepneys, tricycles, pedicabs, buses, market vendors, fish brokers and grocery employees.
Quarantine suspended
The executive order also allows high-risk workers to forego mandatory quarantine if they have already undergone COVID-19 testing.
However, quarantine will not be waived for workers who have close contact with COVID-19 patients and those who live in areas with high COVID-19 cases.
Workers who turn out to be positive for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, will be given food packs and immediate treatment.
Data from Navotas City Health Office showed that market places remain to be venues for high transmission of the COVID-19.
Meanwhile, Tiangco also ordered the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office and the City Health Office to oversee the selection of workers who will undergo free swab tests.
The mayor also ordered Navotas police to lead the enforcement of lockdown in the city as well as contact tracing for COVID-19 patients.
Navotas City is currently under lockdown which started on July 16 and will end on July 29.
As of July 26, the city logged 1,452 confirmed cases of coronavirus disease with 87 deaths and 693 recoveries.