5 RTC branches, DPWH office locked down

FIVE Bulacan courts were placed under a 14-day lockdown after several employees were infected with Covid-19 as 45 employees of the Bulacan First District Engineering Office of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) also tested positive for the virus.

A memorandum was released by Second Vice Executive Judge Corazon Domingo-Rañola of the Bulacan Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Malolos City, with the consent of Deputy Court Administrator for Luzon/OIC Court Administrator Raul Villanueva, ordering the closure of RTC Branches 6, 11, 14, 103 and 104 from January 10 to 22 after some employees tested positive for Covid-19 on Friday and Saturday.

A staff from RTC Branch 11 tested positive for Covid-19 based on a reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction test result released on January 7. The employee last reported for work on January 4 and started to exhibit Covid-19 symptoms on January 5.

Because RTC Branch 11 and Branch 104 share the same office space, personnel of both branches have been exposed to the staff who tested positive for Covid-19.

Two staff of RTC Branch 103 as well as an employee of Branch 14 were also positive of Covid-19.

RTC Branches 6 and 14 also shared the same office space and its personnel have had close contact with the employees infected with the virus.

Domingo-Rañola said she ordered the lockdown of the court branches to avert transmission of the virus. All court personnel who came in close contact with the infected must undergo swab testing and be placed on strict home quarantine.

The closed RTC branches will continue to remain accessible to the public through their official hotline numbers and judiciary email accounts to address urgent matters.

Judges may work through email or videoconferencing with the blessing of the Office of the Court Administrator.

Meanwhile, District Engineer Henry Alcantara of DPWH-Bulacan First District Engineering Office said that 45 of his personnel tested positive for Covid-19 during a mass antigen testing held on Monday.

Alcantara said that he already ordered disinfection in every office department and the entire office ground to avoid the spread of the virus.

In the municipality of Pandi, over 40 municipal employees also tested positive for Covid-19 during mass antigen testing that started on January 6.

“Ang importante ay vaccinated lahat kaya mild lang ang symptoms. Mostly pinag-isolate lang namin ang mga empleyadong nagpositibo. Nagsagawa na rin ang aming health staff ng contact tracing, and we initiated disinfection sa premises in-out ng mga opisina at munisipyo,” Mayor Enrico Roque said.

Bulacan recorded 970 new cases of Covid-19 in the past four days, raising to 5,241 the number of active cases in the province.