Benguet mining town villages locked down

By Liza Agoot 

MANKAYAN, Benguet – This town which hosts the Lepanto gold mining company, has increased border control and ordered a hard lockdown on the mining camp after health authorities tagged a clustering of coronavirus cases among workers.
    Barangay Paco and Sitio Marivic in Barangay Sapid were placed under  hard lockdown to curb the spread of Covid-19, Mankayan Mayor Frensel Ayong said Thursday.
    Some 36 infections have been reported in the areas, requiring the local government to immediately impose preventive measures to avoid a repeat of the Itogon and Tuba experience.
    In October, the mining areas of Tuba and Itogon, both in Benguet, also registered a surge in cases involving miners and their relatives.
     Ayong said they recorded the index case on November 10.
    “A resident went to the hospital for medical attention He was tested positive using antigen and confirmed with a swab test,” he said.
    Contact tracing found two new cases on Nov. 15, four on Nov. 20, eight on Nov. 22, four on Nov. 23, and 17 on Nov. 24.
    “It was good we locked down the camp on November 20. I directed Lepanto to do their part by restricting the movement of their workers and people,” Ayong said.
    He noted that in the case of Tuba and Itogon, Philex mining company shouldered the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests of its workers and their families.
    However, Lepanto said they have limited resources, Ayong added.
    He said this prompted the local government to ask the help of the Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA) to conduct mass testing, similar to what was carried out in Baguio, La Trinidad, Itogon, Sablan, Tuba, Tublay, and Kapangan.
    “We hope that our request for mass testing will be approved,” Ayong said, adding that he has asked the company to consider alternative work arrangements for its workers.
    He said they have restricted entry into the municipality by imposing requirements for those entering the town via the Guinaoang-Ambabag road from Abatan in Buguias town.
    “We require medical certificates and travel requirements,” Ayong said.
    He also said the municipal government has begun holding office outdoors “to cater to our clients” and avoid the 3Cs – closed spaces with poor ventilation, crowded places with many people, and close-contact settings.
    Ayong urged residents and the public who have transactions with the municipal government to call first before proceeding to the town hall so they could be guided where to go and what to do. -- PNA