346 cops infected with COVID

MANILA, Philippines — The number of police officers infected with the coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19 is now 346.

Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Archie Francisco Gamboa said 20 police officers, who recently tested positive for the virus, were either confined in hospitals or under home quarantine.

Gamboa said 176 have recovered while four died.

“We attribute the high recovery rate to our intensified mass testing... extensive contact tracing and treatment of confirmed cases as well as isolation of suspected cases,” he said.

In Pangasinan, a 32-year-old police officer assigned in Dagupan City was found positive for COVID-19 during rapid test conducted by the city government on Tuesday. He is the first case in San Carlos City.

The police officer, a resident of Barangay Turac, was brought to the Pangasinan Provincial Hospital.

Mayor Julier Resuello ordered home quarantine for the family members and all those who had contact with the police officer.

In Nueva Vizcaya, Mayor Elizabeth Balaysa of Kayapa town is on quarantine for 14 days after two Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) personnel she met at her office tested positive for the virus, according to results released on Tuesday.

Six BuCor personnel brought the bodies of two convicts, who died at the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa on May 27, to Kayapa on Tuesday.

Local government employees and the relatives of the dead convicts who were with the mayor when she met the BuCor personnel were also quarantined.