THE Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has ordered all 42,045 barangays nationwide to create their own contact tracing teams (CTTs) to boost the country's contact tracing capability amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.
DILG Secretary Eduardo Año, a former chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, on Wednesday, July 22, 2020, likened barangay leaders to soldiers who have complete understanding of the terrain in a battle.
He said the barangay leaders are more familiar with the residents.
Having CTTs in each barangay will guarantee that close contacts of a Covid-19 patient will be accounted for, thus, reducing the possibility of further contagion.
"We are in for the long haul until a vaccine is developed at kailangan nating labanan ang virus na ito mula sa mga pamayanan. CTTs in barangays will be the first responders to ensure that all residents, especially the ones who are infected together with their immediate families, are monitored and accounted for," he said.
Año said the Local Government Academy and the Philippine Public Safety College will train barangay CTTs.
Aside from contact tracing, barangay CTTS are also tasked to conduct home visitations and ensure that Covid-19 patients strictly observe appropriate home quarantine measures or are transferred to a government-managed isolation facility.
They should also monitor the status of probable, suspected and confirmed cases, including family members with known contact to a confirmed case and report these to the municipal or city health office. (Third Anne Peralta-Malonzo/VoxPop Philippines)