Quezon City opens satellite contact tracing offices

QUEZON CITY, Philippines — The Quezon City government has opened satellite contact tracing offices to strengthen efforts to detect and stop the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in communities.

In a statement yesterday, the city government said it has established satellite contact tracing offices in Districts 3 and 6 to intensify the monitoring of suspected, probable and confirmed cases in barangays.

Four more satellite offices will be set up in the remaining districts in the coming days.

In addition, the city government also formed 90 teams of field and phone contact tracers, on top of the 300 barangay contact tracers and 30 personnel from the Philippine National Police.

“Our goal is to stop the virus right in its tracks. We continuously modify and improve our strategies to make sure we slow the virus transmission within the city,” Mayor Joy Belmonte said.

The city government now has around 600 contact tracers and 30 service vehicles specifically dedicated for contact tracing.

Rolando Cruz, head of the city epidemiology and surveillance unit, said identifying infection routes by going down to the communities is as equally important as finding treatment for COVID-19.

He noted how the strengthened community surveillance has led to the identification of numerous clustered cases and subsequent lockdowns in various areas.

“By rebuilding connections to our communities, we’re able to track the disease and inform our residents of the proper precautions to take,” Cruz said.

“The job entails more than just calling patients and asking them questions. They are effective in gauging and telling us the real situation at the barangay level,” he added.