Four employees of a business process outsourcing (BPO) company in Iloilo City have tested positive for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), Mayor Jerry Treñas disclosed on Thursday, July 30.
One of the infected workers, according to Treñas, “unfortunately died.”
The mayor did not provide further details on the four cases.
Treñas, meanwhile, lambasted the BPO firm for “lack of cooperation.”
“Friday last week, [July 24], we informed the BPO company that one of [its] agents died and to contain the spread of the virus, they should start testing their employees with the help of our City Health [Office],” he said.
“Almost a week had passed and still they chose not to comply with the requirements of the city government. It was only yesterday morning, [July 30] that they allowed our City Health Office to start conducting swab testing and to my surprise they only will allow us to swab a few of their agents,” Treñas further said.
Because of the company’s “non-cooperation,” Treñas said the coronavirus-positive workers might have had infected others.
“We already lost one life how many lives do they still want to loose? I hope their management will be transparent with what is happening and put the health and lives of their employees first,” the mayor said.
“Because first and foremost our priority is the lives of the people that is why we need to move fast to stop the spread of the virus,” Treñas stressed.
Radio station RMN-Iloilo reported that one of the BPO company’s sites in the city has been placed on lockdown. IMT
