CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (PIA)—In facilitating the information pertinent to contact tracing in Eastern Visayas, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) created the Balik-Otso online portal.
Office of the Presidential Assistant for Visayas Asec. Jonji Gonzales said during the daily Network Briefing with Communications Sec. Martin Andanar, July 22, the portal will provide information on the transport service, seat assignment, permanent address, and the quarantine facility where the locally stranded individuals (LSIs) or returning overseas Filipinos (ROFs) will be staying for 14 days.
“Netizens can see general info maps and numbers pero may privacy din. Hindi basta-basta o anu-anong information ang nakikita nila (but there is also privacy. They can not easily access any information),” Gonzales said.
The information will be forwarded to DOST as the main administrator of the portal before uploading such to the website, balik-otso.ph.
The portal is essential in strengthening the contact tracing system of the local government units, Gonzales added.
Department of Health (DOH)-10 Regional Director Dr. Adriano Suba-an said a virtual meeting will be conducted July 22 highlighting the use of applications and prioritization of areas.
After the virtual meeting, a team will be coming to the region to do the training of trainers. Suba-an said the government alone could not do contact tracing, “there should be a participation of the community,” Suba-an said during the NorMin COVID-19 Response Task Force press conference, July 21.
In Region 10, DOST has offered services on thermal scanner for free for national government agencies. They also designed and developed the foot-operated hand washer (FOHW), which is 100 percent completed and is now being used in DOST-10 regional office. (RTP/PIA10)
