GENERAL SANTOS CITY – None among the nearly 1,000 workers of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Region 12 (Soccsksargen) have so far contracted the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), an official said on Monday.

Cezario Joel Espejo, DSWD-Region 12 director, issued the clarification as he assured the agency has been strictly implementing the necessary health and safety protocols in all their offices and field operations.

He said the over 150 personnel reported by the central office over the weekend who have tested positive for Covid-19 were from other regions and units.

“We are thankful that none of our employees have tested positive of Covid-19 as of today and we’re doing everything to maintain that status,” he told reporters.

Espejo said personal protective equipment had been acquired earlier for their field workers, especially those directly engaging with residents and other stakeholders in line with the implementation of priority programs.

These include the continuing distribution of the PHP5,000 cash assistance to some 144,364 waitlisted recipients of the social amelioration program (SAP).

A total of 660,457 family heads received assistance under the first tranche of the SAP, which was intended for poor households affected by the Covid-19 crisis. Soccsksargen was not included in the second round of the subsidy rollout.

A worker assisting the distribution of the SAP assistance in the region had turned out positive for the disease but the latter was under the employ of a local government unit.

As part of their precautionary measures, Espejo said they allowed workers who were considered as “high risk” in terms of contracting the disease to work from home.

He said the agency has a standing policy that requires employees who visited areas with reported local transmission of Covid-19 to undergo quarantine and report to their respective barangays for monitoring.

“Concerned staff members will only be allowed to return to work if they are properly cleared and issued with medical certificates,” he said.

Espejo said the same measure was adopted for workers who were identified as possible close contacts of suspected and confirmed Covid-19 cases.

Those alerted or notified as part of contact-tracing activities are immediately advised by the agency to comply with the protocols, especially if it requires mandatory quarantine, he said.

He appealed to residents and the media to refrain from posting in the social media or reporting unverified information on the matter to avoid panic and possible bullying of their workers. (PNA)