BI virus count at 46

MANILA, Philippines — At least 46 employees of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) have tested positive for COVID-19, an official said yesterday.

BI Commissioner Jaime Morente said 37 of the patients are still recuperating at different quarantine facilities while nine have fully recovered.

No BI personnel died of COVID-19, he added.

“We are doing our best in seeing to it that health protocols aimed at preventing the spread of the virus are strictly observed in our offices and workplaces,” Morente said.

Half of the 46 COVID-positive employees are assigned to the BI headquarters in Manila while the rest are with the airports in Pasay and Cebu and with satellite offices.

Morente asked the public not to be surprised by the COVID-19 cases in the bureau, saying that the BI is “one of the few government agencies whose personnel render frontline services. It is unavoidable that some of our employees do come in contact or are exposed to persons who are carriers of this virus.”