Davao City – Besides undergoing the free swabbing for Sars-CoV-2, public transport drivers also took the opportunity to avail the free tuberculosis screening in a booth with mobile x-rays set up by the Davao City Health Office at the Davao Crocodile Park.
Drivers of the Public Utility Drivers (PUV) are also susceptible to lung diseases such as tuberculosis because they are more exposed to bacteria spread by other people.
This as more and more drivers queued up for the drive-thru free swabbing at the Davao Crocodile Park on the third day of the surveillance swab test for Sars-CoV-2, the virus that causes the coronavirus disease.
Dr. Julinda Acosta, Head of the City Health Office (CHO) Technical Division, said that a total of 964 PUV drivers have been swabbed on the first three (3) days of drive-thru swabbing.
Dr. Ashley Lopez, the Focal Person of the Davao City Covid-19 Task Force, said that based on the data from the City Transport and Traffic Management Office (CTTMO) there are around 21,000 PUV drivers in the city. These individuals are targeted to be tested through the city’s heightened surveillance swabbing.
“Hopefully majority ani atong drivers atong ma-swab so that ma-verify sad nato ang status sa atoang mga drivers because they are considered as one of the high-risk essential workers nato,” Lopez said on Wednesday’s Covid-19 Alert Program over the city-owned Davao City Disaster Radio. He said the public transport drivers are considered as one of the high-risk essential workers.
Lopez said that the swabbing at Crocodile Park can cater up to 500 per day. He also explained the system that the drivers undergo in a drive-thru swabbing. Five tents have been set up at the Crocodile Park. It is a drive-thru set up so that drivers do not need to step out of the vehicle.
Lopez said that the drivers will receive a text message within a week if the results are positive. If drivers do not receive a notification within a week means that they tested negative.
The surveillance swabbing for public drivers was rolled out by the city government according to Executive Order No. 22, Series of 2021, also known as “An Order Providing for Heightened Surveillance and Response of Covid-19 Cases in Public Ground Transport and Delivery Services in Davao City.
The surveillance swabbing at Davao Crocodile Park will run from April 26 to May 8. Lopez said that this will likely be extended considering the number of PUV drivers in the city.
(City Information Office | Michael Manguhig, RPN DXKT Davao OIC)