At least 12 employees of the Department of Health (DOH) in Western Visayas have been infected with the coronavirus disease 2019, or COVID-19.

Dr. Mary Jane Juanico, head of DOH-6’s Infectious Disease Unit, said in a press conference on Saturday, January 9, that all 12 employees have mild symptoms. She added that one is currently admitted in a hospital, two are in facility quarantine, while the rest are on strict home quarantine.

Of the 12 employees, one is from the Engineering Office of the region’s Health Facility Unit, another one from the Health Promotion Unit and 10 from Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (RESU).

Contact tracing is still ongoing in coordination with the Barangay Health Emergency and Response Team and all identified close contacts in the workplace have already been notified and placed under quarantine, said Juanico.

Disinfection and decontamination of the office premises were already done as of Saturday morning.

Juanico said they are yet to determine how and where the employees contracted the virus.

Initially, she noted that one employee developed signs and symptoms but this employee did not report to the office after the Christmas break.

She noted that an index case is from the RESU who tested positive last January 7. After the contract tracing was initiated, nine more from within the unit tested positive.

Despite this development, DOH-6, in a statement, assured the public of its continued commitment and service to the people in the region./WDJ