The Central Visayas regional police said Thursday it would harness gossip swirling in communities to trace residents potentially infected with the novel coronavirus.

"Dalawang klase ang tsismis: isang mapanira, isang nakakabuti. Ang ating kukuhanin ay iyong makakabuti na istorya," Region 7 police chief Brig. Gen. Albert Ignatius Ferro told ABS-CBN's TeleRadyo.

(There are 2 kinds of gossip: libelous, and advantageous. We will get stories that are for the good.)

"Even the smallest detail ng storya about a person's movement... kung siya ba'y may lagnat, siya ba'y nagkaubo—those are the important things. We make use of those stories, we make use of those details that will help each and every Filipino save lives," he added.

(Even the smallest detail of a story about a person's movement whether he or she had fever or coughs—those are the important things.)

Central Visayas as of Wednesday confirmed 12,013 cases of the novel coronavirus disease, making it the region with the second highest COVID-19 tally in the country, next to Metro Manila with 39,164 cases, according to the health department's website.

Watch Ferro's full interview here.

TeleRadyo, July 23, 2020