116 OCD staff test positive for COVID-19; central office closes

A total of 116 personnel of the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) have tested positive for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), spokesperson Mark Timbal announced Thursday evening.

In a message to reporters, Timbal said two personnel initially tested positive for the illness, prompting the agency to conduct confirmatory RT-PCR tests for the skeleton workforce.

He added that around 104 off-duty personnel also requested to be tested.

“The results were issued today. All our employees who tested positive were immediately brought to a quarantine facility,” Timbal said.

He said that 80% of the positive employees are asymptomatic.

Meanwhile, a total of 17 people have tested negative.

Eighty-five personnel are still awaiting their results, including Timbal and administrator Ricardo Jalad.

Central Office closed

Due to this, Timbal said the OCD Central Office will be closed until Monday, August 30 for disinfection procedures.

“OCD services will continue via online channels with our workforce doing work-from-home. The 24/7 NDRRMC Operations Center, on the other hand, will continue to provide regular DRRM monitoring and coordination services,” he said.

This Philippines has logged a total of 1,899,200 confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 32,728 deaths. — Joahna Lei Casilao/BM, GMA News