The Office of the Governor of Negros Occidental, located inside the Provincial Capitol here, has been disinfected after one of its utility workers tested positive for the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
Executive Assistant Charina Magallanes-Tan, spokesperson of the Provincial Incident Management Team for Covid-19, said on Friday that Governor Eugenio Lacson and his 16 staff members have undergone self-isolation.
“It’s true that there is someone from the Governor’s Office who tested positive. The governor and the entire office staff will self-isolate as a precautionary measure,” Tan added.
Lacson was no longer able to join the virtual press briefing with the Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas (OPAV) at noon and was instead represented by Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz II.
With the implementation of the four-day workweek, provincial government offices based at the Capitol are closed on Fridays.
Employees are adopting a work-from-home arrangement during the last day of the workweek.
From August 12 to 16, the Capitol building was locked down for decontamination after several offices have been compromised by the presence of Covid-19-positive workers.
Also on September 2, the offices of Vice Governor Jeffrey Ferrer and members of the Provincial Board, located at the south wing of the Provincial Capitol, were sealed off until September 8 after one of the staff members tested positive for Covid-19.
On Friday, local media reports quoted Cadiz City Mayor Salvador Escalante Jr. as saying that 2nd District Board Member Samson Mirhan has also been infected by the virus.
Escalante is Mirhan’s predecessor in the Provincial Board.
This is the third time the offices of Ferrer and the board members have been shut down for decontamination since March.
Last month, the same offices were closed for a three-day decontamination when it was confirmed that an employee of a board member tested positive for Covid-19.
In March, they were closed to the public for a day for disinfection after a staff of another board member was deemed a potential carrier of the virus. (Nanette Guadalquiver via PNA, photo by PNA)