Some Iloilo City Hall employees have been placed under monitoring after they travelled to areas in the country with confirmed cases of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

These employees, who also had close contact with people from coronavirus-hit countries, are currently under a 14-day home quarantine.

“We will be very strict,” Mayor Jerry P. Treñas said in a media interview.

On Thursday afternoon, March 12, the Iloilo City Hall was closed for disinfection.

Dr. Jay Roland Fortuna, city government focal person for COVID-19, said the move was a precautionary measure against the dreaded disease.

“Ang City Hall gacater various clients. May mga staff kita nga gatravel man, some of them are coming from areas nga may history of COVID-19 local transmissin. May ari ni sila nga mga upod nga mga foreigners from countries nga may mga local transmission man,” said Fortuna. 

“That’s why nga for safety man sang tanan nga empleyado kag mga clients nga gasulod diri sa City Hall, we decided to do a disinfection sang building,” Fortuna added.

City Hall operations resumed today, March 13.

Treñas reiterated his appeal to all City Hall employees to avoid travelling, for the meantime, to areas especially with people coming from countries with local transmission.

“Diri nalang ta anay sa aton. Ang City Hall nagacater sa tanan nga naga-transact and we have to make sure nga waay transmission diri sa aton para ang mga tawo diri safe,” he said.

The mayor said Manila, to a certain extent, has to be considered as an area where there is a local transmission and “we take necessary steps nga mabantayan man ang aton diri sa syudad sang Iloilo.”IMT

Photo: Iloilo City Hall was closed on Thursday afternoon, March 12, for disinfection as a precautionary measure against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).