Metro Manila mayors have asked to extend further the contracts of contact tracers, most of which will expire on August 3.
The mayors believe that the 5,775 contact tracers have helped greatly due to the drop in new COVID-19 cases in Metro Manila every day.
“This is an essential ingredient in our fight against COVID lalo na with the Delta [variant]… importante dito ang contact tracers dahil ang lakas niyang makahawa,” said Metropolitan Manila Development Authority Benhur Abalos.
According to Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III, the Department of Labor and Employment funding is limited.
But they will be forced to allocate P200 million for a 2 -month extension of the contact tracers’ contract.
As of August 15, the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) has contact tracers, numbering 15,000 nationwide, of which 2,381 are deployed in Metro Manila.
As the funds obtained by DILG in Bayanihan 2 are exhausted, and its own funds are also declining, the department is asking the Office of the President for P1.7 billion to extend the contract of contact tracers until December 2021.
Contact tracers cannot be reduced as part of many aspects of the COVID-19 response, said DILG Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya.
Metro Manila mayors want to extend contract of contract tracers
DILG also plans to maintain the current number of contact tracers until 2022, so it will be part of the requested budget for next year.
Meanwhile, some local government units (LGUs) in Metro Manila are already preparing for the possibility of the spread of the more contagious COVID-19 Delta variant.
In Pasay City, Barangay 183 has implemented “no ID, no entry,” which means that non -residents are not allowed to enter.
The barangay has experienced being able to record 140 new cases of COVID-19 in one day.
In Makati, vaccination is in full swing due to the threat of the COVID-19 Delta variant. However, the city also has a large backlog of vaccinations due to a lack of supply.
Up to 152,048 were vaccinated in the first dose, while 81,988 were fully vaccinated.
In preparation for the COVID-19 Delta variant, the implementation of minimum health standards and a ban on mass gatherings have been tightened again.
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