Feature

Behind the mask: vivid accounts of a contact tracer

by Elijah Max Salazar

October 11, 2021

(Author’s note: This story was originally written for the Feature Writing contest of the 2021 Ditto Sarmiento Journalism Cup, where it won first place.)

The contact tracing process is no joke. Having to identify all people who have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for an infectious disease is already an arduous task – and it’s made even much more grueling when the disease has grown into an epidemic, just like COVID-19.

Ask Mikhail Lawrence Ramrod Llorca, fondly known as Miko. He is the Contact Tracing Head of the Pasay City Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (CESU), and he had a lot to share about the sacrifices and challenges of becoming a contact tracer during a press conference for the Ditto Sarmiento Journalism Cup on October 10, Sunday.

Before COVID-19, Llorca had no idea at all about what epidemiology was. He started as a health center nurse in Pasay in 2013, only becoming a regular employee two years later. After being given a disease surveillance role in the CESU, he became interested in epidemiology.

“Parang imbestigador kami ng mga sakit,” he thought of the position. His interest pushed him to read more on the subject matter and be sent to trainings by the Department of Health (DOH), allowing him to appreciate the role even better.

The CESU was an unknown office before the pandemic, Llorca revealed. “May mga times pa nga na hindi kami nabibigyan ng budget,” he says. They continued training and doing their work, nonetheless. Some of the tasks they’ve done include case investigations of mass casualty events such as food poisoning incidents. “Nakakatuwa ‘yung mga connection, ‘yung mga ginagawa,” he mentions. “Underappreciated siya before, pero ngayon nakikita ko ‘yung importance niya.”

Enter the COVID-19 pandemic. CESUs across the country became the go-to for local case information – whether it be regarding the number of cases, deaths, recoveries, and even vaccinations. His daily routine now, he reveals, has no time boundaries – he can be called up late at night or early in the morning, which is fine with him. In the morning, he usually previews cases that are up for contact tracing, assigns tasks to his team, checks messages for problems in certain areas, and moves around Pasay to monitor barangays and health centers with his team and the City’s Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO). At the end of the day, Llorca gives a daily COVID briefer to the City Mayor, which includes the total number of new cases, new recoveries, daily testing, and contact tracing data, among others. His routine now is far, though, from how it was at the start of the pandemic. Llorca remembers once waking up to 19 missed calls and 23 messages – a situation he described as a nightmare.

Handling the situation of his city in a pandemic requires a lot of commitment and courage. Contact tracers will need to go to all places possible, despite the risk of going around. What made Llorca accept the job? “Hindi ko kaya na mag-back off, umatras, lalo na’t alam kong ganito yung sitwasyon on the ground,” he responded. He added that it’s their passion as front liners to help and inform. Upon experiencing different situations and interacting with different patients and realizing that citizens depend on people like him in these times, it made him realize the relevance of the hard task. “It’s cliché,” he quipped, “but it’s really our passion.”

Llorca always reminds his fellow contact tracers to have patience, courtesy, humility, and empathy as characters a contact tracer should have. “Kamustahin niyo muna sila,” he says. “Malaki yung naitutulong ng simple na kamustahin mo lang yung tao, kasi sila na mago-open up sa inyo.”

His job as a frontliner has resulted in major changes to his personal life. He and his fiancée, who is a doctor, have minimized the times they went home to their own families because of the high risk that their movement poses to them and their families. He also recalled having to experience the passing of his father in July 2020. He was unable to answer three 30-40 second calls from his father, who suffered from a stroke after recovering from a regular angioplasty. “Do not take for granted calls and messages of your family,” he says of the ordeal. “You’ll never know, ‘yun na pala yung last.”

One of his worst experiences carrying out his responsibilities as a contact tracer? Llorca shares a recent experience of having to deliver bad news to a couple whose nine-day-old baby died after a positive COVID test. Before the baby was born, both parents also tested positive for COVID-19, which barred them from being able to see their child after birth. The baby was given a wake by their family after seeking a second COVID test, which came out negative. However, the protocols for COVID-19 deaths were that second opinions weren’t honored when taking COVID tests into account and that wakes were not allowed for people who were COVID-positive.

“Imagine,” he narrates, “yung dilemma na pupunta ka doon sa area, na ie-explain mo sa kanila na ‘yung anak nila, na hindi nila nakitang buhay, hindi nila nayakap whatsoever, ay pipigilan ko pa na iburol because of the protocol.” Despite the need to prioritize the protocols that need to be followed, he still thought of how they could help that family grieve. After weighing all the options, his team ended up cordoning off an area and allowing only the parents and their immediate family to mourn for their loss, without any additional visitors.

Putting their lives at risk and having to witness countless moments like those day after day is undeniably fatiguing, both physically and emotionally. They get overwhelmed after talking with lots of people and not being able to help 100% of those they interact with. With regards to combatting fatigue, Llorca shares that the team members talk and acknowledge each other’s mental health. “Kahit na alam mo yung trabaho mo, yung risk na pinapasok mo,” he reminds, “iba pa rin talaga pag na-experience mo siya firsthand.” He keeps his line open, even in the wee hours of the day, for teammates to contact him when they need someone to talk to, especially when they are isolated due to a positive COVID test. He also has regular team meetings with all his team members so they can talk and share their feelings.

Working abroad? “Sorry, tinanggihan ko na,” he answers with a laugh. He says he’s just amazed with the salary of an overseas job offered to him, but he can’t leave his teammates and, more importantly, the country behind. “I love what I do,” he explains. “Saka na lang ‘yun kapag tapos na ‘to.”

Despite constant challenges, such as surges in COVID-19, frontliners like him say “Mapapagod, pero hindi susuko.” He is motivated to serve by his passion, by the thought that he can help people in need. “Iba ‘yung feeling na magpapasalamat sa’yo, umiiyak pa,” he explains.

When asked for a message for his fellow Filipinos, Llorca only has three words – vaccination, discipline, and self-awareness.

Thousands of contact tracers across the country work to ensure that all cases of COVID-19 are accounted for each day. Pasay’s Miko Llorca is just one of them. Behind their masks and within their PPEs, each one of them has their own story to tell.