LAOAG CITY – An augmentation team is taking over the law enforcement personnel in Vintar, Ilocos Norte for 14 days starting Tuesday as a cop tested positive for coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).

Col. Christopher Abrahano, provincial police director, said the latest confirmed case, IN-C125 is currently assigned at the Vintar Police Station.

“The Ilocos Norte Police Provincial Office, in coordination with Mayor Larisa Foronda, has sent an augmentation team to take over the law enforcement in Vintar for 14 days,” he said.

In a public advisory, Governor Matthew Joseph Manotoc said the 45-year-old patient is asymptomatic and isolated. He is a resident of San Pedro village and the sixth Covid-19 positive case in Vintar town.

For her part, Mayor Foronda immediately ordered the Municipal Health Office and the Incident Command System to conduct contact tracing and other related protocols to contain local transmission in the area.

She likewise urged the public to stay calm as concerned health authorities and experts are doing their best to contain the spread of the virus.

“There is no reason for us to worry for as long as we also do our part. Let us continue to observed maximum health protocols at all times. With your cooperation, we can survive this pandemic,” she said in a statement.

Out of the total 125 cases in Ilocos Norte, 109 had already recovered with one death. (PNA)