Magalong taps police for contact tracing efforts

Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong, the government's contact tracing czar, has requested personnel from the Philippine National Police to be part of contact tracers amid reports of low productivity in contact tracing.

At the Laging Handa briefing on Tuesday, Magalong, a retired police official, said he made the request through the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).

“Kinausap muli natin ang Philippine National Police through the DILG na dapat sana pahiramin nila 'yung mga personnel nila for contract tracing,” he said.

(“I requested again with the Philippine National Police, through the DILG, to lend their personnel for contact tracing.”)

For Magalong, the additional contact tracers from the PNP will help improve their operation since police can use their investigative skills in looking for contacts of COVID-19 cases.

The contract tracing czar called for more contact tracers to address the low productivity in contact tracing in the country.

Earlier, Magalong lamented that the national contact tracing efficiency ratio has been estimated around 1 contact tracer is to 7 identified contacts of COVID-19 case.

He said the ideal ratio for urban settings is 1:30 to 37, while for rural areas it is 1:25 to 30.

Magalong said that last year, they actually included PNP personnel in their training for contact tracing, but was surprised when he saw that policemen were not involved in contact tracing efforts at the local government level. —KBK, GMA News