TACLOBAN CITY –– At least 22 police trainees at the Regional Police Training Center based in this city tested positive for the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
Senior Sgt. Lalaine Rosales, information officer of the training center located in the San Jose district, said the trainees were part of the 241 newly recruited policemen.
To prevent the spread of the virus, Rosales said all of the 22 police trainees were immediately isolated in a facility.
All of them were asymptomatic.
Aside from the police trainees, the virus also infected two personnel and one mess hall server of the training facility.
Last Oct. 30, the 241 police trainees went to the Regional Police Training Center.
Five of them had colds and sore throats and were swabbed on Nov. 13.
The test results showed that four of them acquired the virus.
Their close contacts were also swabbed on Nov. 19.
At least 19 of them as well as the mess hall server and the two training personnel tested positive for COVID-19.
The Bureau of Fire and Protection immediately disinfected the training center.
The records of the Eastern Visayas police show that at least 235 police officers had COVID-19 as of Nov. 27, but 172 of them have recovered.
Eastern Visayas has 8,518 COVID-19 cases with 68 new cases on Thursday.
The new cases were from Samar province with 34 cases; Leyte, 30; Eastern Samar, three; and one from Northern Samar.
The Department of Health said two persons, a 72-year-old woman from Calbiga, Samar, and a 70-year-old man from Tanauan, Leyte, died last Nov.23 and Nov.25, respectively.
The region now has 88 deaths due to COVID-19.