CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (PIA)–In boosting capacity to handle contact tracing, link analysis and other measures to combat coronavirus disease (COVID)-19, 42 frontliners in the region will undergo a training with National Inter Agency Task Force Contact Tracing Czar Benjamin Magalong, August 19, here.
During the NorMin COVID-19 Response Task Force press conference, August 18, Department of Health (DOH)-10 Regional Director Dr. Adriano Suba-an said the training will include cognitive interviewing skills involving personnel from the Philippine National Police (PNP) and health workers.
Suba-an added that Magalong prefers those who can articulate well and those with leadership qualities to join the said training. Thus, participants for such were carefully selected from the five provinces and two highly urbanized cities in the region.
Cognitive interviewing is similar to the questioning technique observed by PNP to retrieve information about a crime from eyewitnesses and victims.
This technique can be used effectively to gather information about COVID-19 patients and the people they interacted with.
On the same day, analytical tools will be taught to PNP-10 and information and communications technology (ICT) staff of local government units (LGUs).
In the analytical tool training, the participants will be taught on using a domain where the LGUs can set up their own COVID-19 database using their data collection tool. The information, when inputted to the link analysis software being used by the police, will generate links and data useful in contact tracing.
Aside from allowing them to utilize the domain and help them develop their own websites, Magalong’s team will also teach the frontliner on how to use both the data collection tool to build their own database and the link analysis software for their contact tracing.
Suba-an said the training aims to beef up the LGUs’ capacity in responding to COVID-19 cases in their areas thus, they carefully picked the participants and made sure that every province is well represented.
As of August 18, the region has 953 confirmed cases of COVID-19, of which 513 have recovered, 14 have expired, and 426 have recovered. (RTP/PIA10)
