At least 438 workers in construction sites in Bonifacio Global City (BGC) and Lower Bicutan Village in Taguig have tested positive for the coronavirus, Mayor Lino Cayetano said yesterday.
Cayetano said in a statement that the spike in cases can be attributed to increased swab tests in the city, where nearly half of the tested workers turned out positive in BGC alone. Contact tracing is being implemented and several sites have been placed on lockdown.
“These are a construction site in Bonifacio Global City, where 327 of the 691 workers who underwent testing tested positive for COVID-19, and four areas in Lower Bicutan, where 111 out of the 2,104 tests conducted so far tested positive. We acted fast and these areas were immediately contained,” he said.
The Taguig mayor said more cases are expected as the city government continues to “aggressively test” not just construction workers, but the rest of his constituents. He said at present, the city has tested 12,000 people or at least 2% of its population.
“The target is for 10 percent of the city population to be tested before the year ends,” Cayetano said.
He urged the public to cooperate so that the city can properly implement contact tracing and impose localized lockdowns if needed. Cayetano added that Taguig plans to open a 500-bed quarantine facility in Lower Bicutan earmarked in a few weeks. This is on top of the city’s five existing COVID-19 isolation sites.
Last month, a separate construction site in BGC was also placed on lockdown after its workers complained of running a fever, at least 23 people later tested positive for the virus.
In May, the Duterte government allowed public and private construction works to resume, despite a stricter enhanced community quarantine.
Taguig City has recorded at least 1,450 COVID-19 cases to date, with 23 deaths and 215 recoveries.
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