The Department of the Interior and the Local Government (DILG) in Negros Oriental is awaiting the go signal from the national government for the renewal of contracts of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) contact tracers.

The contracts of the second batch of 286 contact tracers deployed across the province that started Feb. 8, 2021 ended on Sunday, Aug. 8, following the expiration of the Bayanihan 2, DILG-Negros Oriental provincial head Farah Gentuya said in an interview Monday.

She said she has received word of funding allocation from the Bayanihan 3 for the rehiring and extension of contracts of contract tracers in the province but the release date has not been finalized yet.

In the meantime, local contact tracers are being utilized, as well as barangay health emergency response teams (BHERTs) to ensure that Covid-19 suspects and probable cases and the people they were exposed to would be located and identified.

The first batch of 998 contact tracers for Negros Oriental was hired by the DILG from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, 2020, Gentuya said.

The distribution of the contact tracers in the local government units varied depending on the population and other criteria, she noted.

Each contact tracer received a monthly salary of about PHP19,700, communication allowance of PHP400, and PHP1,000 travel allowance per month, aside from medical supplies, Gentuya said. (PNA)