A contact diary will help in COVID-19 tracing –QC gov't

The Quezon City Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit on Monday urged residents to make a contact diary as this would help the city government’s contact tracing efforts amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to Saleema Refran’s report on “24 Oras” on Monday, residents may note in their diaries those who they came in contact with, what they did that day, the time, location, and the contact number of the person they talked to.

The local government said residents may write the details in a notebook or their mobile phones.

“Napakaimportante po ng information na ito at mas maganda po na kinokolekta natin on a daily basis as citizens kahit na wala ka pang positive result, kinokolekta mo na siya at kung sakaling may mag-positive man, madali na lang ‘yong contact tracing,” Joshua Young, team lead of the QC-ESU contact tracing, added.

“Ang problema ng COVID is not just a personal problem, a health problem, its a problem of the community. It’s a public health problem so it will take a community to address this problem,” QC-ESU chief Dr. Rolly Cruz added.

Meanwhile, the city government also urged those individuals who underwent swab or rapid testing to self-report.

“When you self report, you initiate contact tracing and contact tracing is a public health measure to stop the spread of the infection. Technically, not only thinking of yourself but iniisip mo rin ’yong posibleng nahawahan mo, ‘yong posibleng nakahawa sayo para mapigil natin ‘yong pag-spread ng infection sa community,” Cruz said.

Individuals who want to self-report may contact the QC COVID-19 response center through email, Facebook, or hotline. — Ma. Angelica Garcia/DVM, GMA News