Over 80 MMDA employees contract COVID-19

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) personnel. FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) on Wednesday said that 82 of its staff tested positive for coronavirus, the virus that causes COVID-19.

“Kahapon sila nag undergo ng swab test dahil [may] mga mild symptoms, lahat sila naka-isolate na and the agency is conducting contact tracing na,” MMDA chief information officer Sharon Gentalian told reporters in a Viber group message.

(Yesterday they underwent a swab test because they were experiencing mild symptoms, they are all now under isolation and the agency is conducting contact tracing.)

Normal operations also remain in the MMDA’s offices despite the number of infected staff.

“The management is making sure na hindi maaantala ang pagbibigay ng serbisyo sa publiko [that the services to the public will not be delayed],” Gentalian said.

These infections came while the country is going through another surge of COVID-19 infections, which the health department attributed to the increased mobility during the yuletide season as well as the presence of the highly contagious COVID-19 Omicron variant.

Metro Manila was then placed under Alert Level 3, along with Rizal, Bulacan, and Cavite in an effort to curb the further spread of the virus.

Earlier, the Department of Health reported 10,775 COVID-19 infections, which brought active infections to 39,974.

Of the newly-reported infections, 69 percent or 7,420 came from Metro Manila alone.

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JPV