By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

A total of 28 Covid-positive patients in Bacolod City are reportedly missing.

Councilor Renecito Novero, in an interview with Bombo Radyo-Bacolod over the weekend, said the 28 patients were part of the more than 400 residents who took part in the two-day Bacolod leg of the Time Out Weekend Mass Testing Program two weeks ago.

Novero said the Quarantine Action Team of the city government had contacted five of the 33 Covid-19 patients initially reported missing or can’t be contacted by the city health office.

The 28 gave false information on the Confidential Information Form (CIF) and most of them did not give their contact numbers, he said.

Councilor Lady Gles Gonzales-Pallen, president of the Liga ng mga Barangays is tasked to track down their locations since the mass testing was barangay-based, he pointed out.

Asked if the identities of the “missing” patients can be announced on mainstream media or posted on social media, Novero said “they are protected by the Data Privacy Act and anyone may face criminal charges if they do that.”

We are still studying how to locate them, he added.

He appealed to those who have information on the locations of the 28 patients to urge them to submit themselves to the city’s isolation facility “and not contaminate more people.”/DGB, WDJ