The offices of Negros Occidental’s vice governor and provincial board members at the Provincial Capitol building here were closed to the public for disinfection on Thursday afternoon.

The cleanup was done after a staff member of a board member has been classified as a potential carrier of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) infection.

Governor Eugenio Lacson said he authorized the personnel to leave their offices earlier than usual because of the development and still classified the employee as a person under monitoring (PUM).

“As a precautionary measure, the said offices were closed for sanitization and disinfection. All other government transactions at the Capitol remain business as usual,” he added.

The female PUM, who works as a technical assistant of a board member, has manifested flu-like symptoms. She was among those who joined the delegation of councilors from Negros Occidental during the Philippine Councilors League National Convention held at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City on February 26-28.

Lacson said so far, none of the province’s councilors who attended the event has manifested symptoms for possible Covid-19 infection. “It’s been 13 days. No councilor has been complaining,” he said.

The PUM has been admitted to the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital here and will undergo laboratory tests. (PNA)