1,500 contact tracers needed to manage COVID-19 cases in Soccsksargen

KORONADAL CITY—At least 1,500 contact tracers will be hired by the government in Soccsksargen (South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani and General Santos) as confirmed cases of the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the region neared the 1,000 mark.

Josephine Cabrido-Leysa, regional director of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), said the contact tracers would work for four months or up to January 2021.

She said the position, with a corresponding salary of P18,784 a month (Salary Grade 9), would require a bachelor’s degree.

The DILG would accept applicants without civil service eligibility or training, since the office, along with the Local Government Academy, would be training the recruits.

More slots

In a statement, Leysa said the DILG central office had allocated 1,451 contact tracers for Soccsksargen, but the region appealed for more slots due to the rising cases of COVID-19. The region had been allowed to hire 1,501 contact tracers.

Among those who will be given priority are DILG job order workers whose contracts have not been renewed, displaced overseas Filipino workers and terminated workers of local companies, she said.

Applicants should submit a letter of intent, resume, police clearance (while waiting for their National Bureau of Investigation clearance) and drug test results to local DILG offices until Sept. 21.

Arjohn Gangoso, health education and promotion officer of the Department of Health in the region, said 978 people had tested positive for COVID-19 as of Sept. 16.South Cotabato recorded 328 cases, the highest among the provinces in the region, followed by General Santos City, 193 cases; Cotabato City, 151; Sarangani, 118; Sultan Kudarat, 96; and Cotabato, 92.

The region has 510 active COVID-19 cases, with 457 recoveries and 19 deaths, Gangoso said. —BONG S. SARMIENTO