Officials and employees of the Borongan City government are required to undergo antigen tests for the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) twice every month.

The city health office (CHO) began Friday the swabbing of some personnel for the rapid test but has not yet disclosed the results.

“As per information from the CHO, swabbing is limited to only 50 persons a day following a schedule per department to avoid overcrowding,” the city information office said in a social media post.

The mandatory testing complies with Memorandum JIDCA 04-0121 issued by Mayor Jose Ivan Dayan Agda on January 7 to prevent the spread of the virus and ensure that no government work would be affected.

The directive also requires employees with influenza-like symptoms, such as colds, cough, or fever, to immediately report to their respective department heads.

“All employees who have these symptoms shall immediately self-isolate until given further instruction by the Public Health and Safety Task Force,” Agda said in the memorandum.

Earlier, the city government said it has allocated PHP20 million for the purchase of antigen test kits for Covid-19 this year.

Each kit, at PHP650, will be used for rapid testing of returning locally stranded individuals upon their arrival at the border control point.

To date, the city has recorded a total of 78 Covid-19 cases, including 58 recoveries and one death, based on the monitoring report of Eastern Samar’s provincial health office. (PNA)