The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Region III through the Monitoring and Evaluation Division (MED) and the Department of Health - Regional Epidemiology Surveillance Unit (DOH-RESU) conducted the Conference on the Orientation of Contact Tracing Teams (CTTs) via Zoom on April 24, 2020.

DILG Region 3 Regional Director Julie J. Daquioag welcomed the participants as she encouraged everyone to hand-in-hand contain the virus. "We have to eliminate the unknown and unseen enemy that is Coronavirus," she said.

There were 377 participants in the teleconference including the DILG Region 3 personnel from the regional office to the field offices, PNP personnel, Local Health Officers, Local DRRM Officers, and other members of the CTT.

DOH-RESU representative Rosana Rosell presented the roles and functions of the CTT members as well as the guidelines provided by DOH in contact tracing. Contact Tracing is defined in Public Health, accordingly, as the process of identification of persons who may have come into contact with an infected person (contacts) and subsequent collection of further information about these contacts.

Generally, the goal of contact tracing is to interrupt the ongoing transmission by alerting the community and offering diagnosis to reduce infection among the population while concomitantly, maintain the confidentiality and risk of stigma, discrimination, or abuse as result of this process that may discourage individual to seek medical treatment.

LG-MED Chief Lerrie S. Hernandez expressed her thanks to the participants present in the orientation and emphasized the roles of NGAs and LGUs that will contribute to the success of the process.