SUBIC BAY FREEPORT—Employees of a business-process outsourcing (BPO) firm here have found out rather too late that it was not yet okay to party.
Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said 25 workers of a company registered in this free port have been infected with the new coronavirus disease (Covid-19) after being exposed to coworkers who attended parties two weeks ago.
“As of latest count, 25 employees have tested positive for Covid-19 infection out of 65 workers who had to be placed on quarantine,” Eisma announced on Wednesday.
“Our health experts here have determined that were it not for parties that workers attended, all these hassles of quarantine and work stoppage would not have happened,” she added.
The SBMA did not mention the name of the company in its statement but described it as a provider of BPO services. The firm reportedly has more than 500 call center agents in its employ.
According to Dr. Solomon Jacalne, who heads the SBMA Public Health & Safety Department, the surge in Covid-19 cases at the BPO firm was traced to two parties that employees attended last November 14.
He said one was a beach party at Baloy, a popular beach area in Olongapo City, and the other was a pool party held in San Marcelino, Zambales.
Jacalne said contact tracing indicated that the employees who tested positive of Covid-19 either attended the parties or were exposed to coworkers who went to the said social gatherings.
The doctor also pointed out that the unsafe behavior of employees allowed the further spread of the virus in the workplace. “Some were not honest with their health declaration,” he noted. “They didn’t say they were sick and they reported for work just the same because of the company’s no-work-no-pay policy.”
Jacalne said the first case was recorded on November 6, but the patient’s two identified close contacts had tested negative. The next two positive cases were known on November 17 a couple who declared as close contacts only those with whom they shared the shuttle bus.
“Then there came to be a sudden spike in the following days, from November 19 to 25. And this was the only time when the employees admitted about the beach and pool parties—when there were already 16 positive cases,” Jacalne said.
After the parties were revealed, further investigation by tracers widened the circle of close contacts to a total of 65—all employees of the BPO firm. Out of these, 25 so far have tested positive of the virus.
Jacalne added that no other positive case was recorded at the firm in the last seven days and that all the suspect cases are now under quarantine in their respective areas in Zambales, Olongapo City and Bataan and awaiting schedule for RT-PCR test.
In the wake of the outbreak, Chairman Eisma ordered further investigation to determine additional safety measures to be imposed at the BPO firm.
Company officials said they have already installed barriers between work stations as early as August and have now positioned their call center agents one workstation apart.
It was also learned that with 500 call center agents in its employ, the company intends to expand into a bigger area to comply with Joint Memorandum Circular 20-04-A, which provided for supplemental guidelines from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on workplace prevention and control of Covid-19.
Eisma said the SBMA will look into the possibility of leasing out a portion of a nearby building for the expansion area needed by the firm.