GSIS Legazpi City branch under lockdown after employee contracts COVID-19

LEGAZPI CITY — The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) branch in this city went on lockdown Sunday after one of its employees was infected with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the City Interagency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious disease (IATF) said on Monday.

City Mayor Noel Rosal, City-AITF chair, directed the GSIS management to temporarily close its office in Barangay (village) 18-Cabangan West here to give sufficient time for disinfection of the building and its premises.

The lockdown will be enforced and lifted after disinfection procedures have been done, while 33 employees who had close contact with the COVID-positive employee have undergone swab or reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction testing.

Levi Olivar, GSIS Legazpi Branch Manager, said that while the office is on lockdown, business transactions will continue through email and online transactions, GSIS Kiosks, and dropbox.

Olivar in a phone interview said the branch office has 39 employees, of which 26 are permanent.

He expects that the office would resume its business transaction by next Monday (Dec. 28).

On Friday, the Department of Education Bicol office also went on lockdown after one of its employees contracted COVID-19.

JE