Some 700 stall owners and vendors at the Guagua Public Market were tested for COVID-19 on Wednesday as the provincial government intensifies its contact tracing.
Governor Dennis “Delta” Pineda rolled out a COVID-19 mobile swabbing van to conduct ‘free’ mass swab testing to all stall owners and vendors at the market after confirmed cases reportedly emanated from the area.
“Ito ang tulong po na ibinigay ni Governor Delta sa bayan ng Guagua. This is our initial step to regain the trust of our buyers. Ito ang ating kaparaanan upang maipakita na maayos, malinis, at hopefully maging COVID-free ang ating public market,’’ said Board Member Anthony Joseph Torres, vice committee chairperson on health.
Torres explained the activity was part of the intensive contact tracing implemented by the provincial government to prevent the continuous spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the said town.
It can be recalled that COVID-19 cases in Guagua town started to increase after a vendor and market personnel tested positive of the said virus.
As of September 10, COVID-19 RT-PCR confirmed cases in the said town already reached 132 with nine deaths, the highest mortality recorded in the province so far.
Meanwhile, Leonor Sarmiento, one of the 700 market vendors who received the free swab test expressed gratitude for the assistance extended to them.
She said the initiative of the Governor in prioritizing the welfare of the market vendors will be of great help to revive the economy of the public market.
“Maraming salamat po Gob, kung hindi po dahil sa inyo hindi po kami makakapagswab test kasi wala po kaming perang pang swab. Tiyak na makakatulong po ito para yung mga taong pumupunta sa palengke namin ay hindi na po matakot at muli nang mamili sa bayan ng Guagua,” she said.