DILG says emergency 911 hotline now fully operational after some staff got COVID-19

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Wednesday announced that the Emergency 911 Hotline is now fully-operational after encountering problems as some staff tested positive for COVID-19. 

“Malugod po naming ipinapaalam sa lahat na balik sa normal na po ang ating operasyon sa E911 hotline. Maraming salamat sa inyong pang-uunawa at dasal, nalampasan na ng ating mga kasamahan sa National Call Center ang pagsubok na ito,” DILG chief Eduardo Año said in a press statement. 

In August, it was bared by DILG spokesman Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya that at least five telecommunicators of the hotline got infected with COVID-19. Due to this, calls have been rerouted to local call centers. 

Año bared that the problem was further aggravated when 20 more detailed personnel from the Bureau of Fire Protection also tested positive for COVID-19. 

According to E911 executive director Diosdado Valeroso, the National Call Center had to be disinfected twice after the infection of some BFP telecommunicators.
 
He said the five infected telecommunicators, who were all asymptomatic, already recovered from the disease. The BFP personnel are also back to work, Valeroso said. 

“We have currently four teams: Team Lapulapu, Team Rizal, Team Bonifacio, and Team Tandang Sora with 18 ETCs each who work round the clock on a 24-hour work shift due to transportation issues,” Valeroso said. —KG, GMA News