MANILA, Philippines – Camp Karingal, the headquarters of the Quezon City Police District (QCPD), was placed on lockdown after 14 personnel tested positive for the coronavirus.
The National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) made the announcement on Monday, May 11 – two full days after it placed the camp on lockdown and got confirmation of the infections. (READ: Mathematician refutes DOH claim of 'flattening' coronavirus curve)
The lockdown involves restricting entry and exit to and from the camp beginning 5 pm on Saturday, May 9, until 5 pm on Tuesday, May 12.
"Out of the 1,563 population inside Camp Karingal to include Regional Support Units, target group testing was conducted [for] a total of 219 personnel. 115 results were already released and 14 personnel tested positive for COVID-19 infection while 104 are still awaiting result," the NCRPO said in a statement.
Of the 14 who tested positive, one is a member of Joint Task Force NCR and 13 are QCPD cops – 9 commissioned and 4 non-commissioned officers. Ten are based in Camp Karingal, while the other 3 are assigned to different police stations.
As contact tracing began, QCPD chief Brigadier General Ronnie Montejo transferred base to QCPD Kamuning Police Station 10. (READ: Policing a pandemic: Philippines still stuck with drug war blueprint)
"Our most important resource against this battle is our human resource," he said in the statement.
As of May 8, a total of 131 cops have been infected with the virus, leading to 4 deaths and 49 recoveries.
Across the Philippines, a total of 11,086 people have been infected as of Monday, with 726 deaths and 1,999 recoveries. – Rappler.com
