Davao City Covid-19 Task Force spokesperson Dr. Michelle Schlosser bared that over 100 individuals applied with the Human Resource Management Office (HRMO) as contact tracers.
The city is currently hiring additional contact tracers due to the continuing surge in Covid-19 cases.
These applicants will augment the city’s current lean team of contact tracers, which has been serving beyond regular working hours since the pandemic struck in March 2020.
Schlosser, who will be among those who will screen the applicants being the head of the contact tracing team, said the city is looking for applicants with good communication skills and a pleasant personality as the contact tracing skills can be learned and adapted.
She added that the current contact tracers that the city has hired when the maximum average daily cases were 200 and above.
“Kay as of the moment kay kulang gyud ta, they have to work. Ang atoang working hours kay eight hours lang, they are working 24/7. They are allotting their lives talaga, Saturday, Sunday, walay undang na atoang contact tracing whether buntag or evening,” she said.
A contact tracer conducts contact tracing during the day and prepares reports in the evening as there are documentations needed to be submitted, including the timeline of contacts of a Covid-19 positive case.
“Ten hours of contact tracing and another 10 hours for reporting, their sleeping time is so really less. We pay so much respect and much gratitude sa atoang mga contact tracers. Pero I also acknowledge dili jud perpekto tanan namong mga contact tracers,” she said.
Schlosser also appealed to the public to help the contact tracers in performing their tasks.
“We do want to improve our services pero dili gyud sya perpekto kay we’ve been battling this for two years, walay Saturday, Sunday. They work 24/7, siguro naay certain boiling point kapuyon napud sila ba but again that’s not an excuse kay naa man mi sa serbisyo publiko so it’s not an excuse but again we plea for your understanding,” she said.
