Delta cases up in Baguio, Trinidad; carriers searched
>> Sunday, August 22, 2021
BAGUIO CITY – Authorities warned residents here and nearby Benguet towns like adjacent La Trinidad to follow health protocols after persons afflicted with the Delta variant of Covid-19 visited these areas, could have infected local folks and the virus could be fast spreading.
Authorities are locating now fellow passengers of a returning overseas Filipino (ROF) in a sweeper bus and the close contacts of a school employee after both were confirmed to have been infected with the Delta variant of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
Baguio had 407 active Covid-19 cases as of August 24.
The ROF arrived in July, underwent a 14-day isolation in Manila, and was already tagged as recovered before allowed to go home here.
Mayor Benjamin Magalong, Jr. said they want to assure the other passengers’ safety.
“We are currently conducting contact tracing of 16 passengers who rode with him in a sweeper bus to Baguio,” Magalong said in a text message.
The Department of Health-Cordillera Administrative Region, in an advisory on August 15, confirmed the two Delta variant cases.
The other Delta case, an employee of an English language school in Barangay Camp 7, tested positive for Covid-19 after a swab test on July 24.
Magalong said 10 of the more than 100 co-employees also tested positive, causing the city government to place the facility under hard lockdown for 10 days last month.
DOH-CAR is currently backtracking the close contacts. It was not known yet if the school employee has already recovered.
The faculty member of the language school was reportedly one of the alleged attendees of a birthday party on July 9 but started having Covid symptoms on July 12 and tested positive on July 21.
Magalong ordered immediate lockdown of the language school for at least 10 days aside from the aggressive contact tracing and the sharing of information to the nearby municipalities of Tuba, Itogon, Atok and Buguias in Benguet where some close contacts had visited over the past several days.
Before the Delta cases were recorded, Magalong said he was already expecting a surge in cases because of the highly transmissible variant.
The city is increasing capacity of temporary treatment and monitoring facilities, which now has over a thousand beds.
This is to augment the facilities of village and private company isolation areas, and the Covid-19 wards in hospitals for symptomatic patients.
A budget of at least P8 million is on standby to aid hospitals that will need to purchase and stock up on oxygen, supplies, and medicines.
Since Monday, non-essential travelers from general community quarantine (GCQ) and modified GCQ areas were allowed entry to the city if fully vaccinated or with negative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction test result taken at least 72 hours prior to travel.
Entry of other non-essential travelers from areas with higher quarantine classifications remain suspended.
The first patient infected with the Delta variant recovered, the DOH said.
The first Delta variant case in the city had infected three family members including a senior citizen, a village hardware store worker.
Close contacts had been reported in nearby La Trinidad, the capital town of Benguet.
The mayor earlier estimated the Delta variant will hit the city hard and its effects will be longer.
The DOH-Cordillera reminded residents to strictly comply with the minimum public health standards and adhere to the guidelines and protocols set by local authorities.
The people were also strongly advised to avoid unnecessary travel. – With a report from Liza Agoot/PNA
Authorities are locating now fellow passengers of a returning overseas Filipino (ROF) in a sweeper bus and the close contacts of a school employee after both were confirmed to have been infected with the Delta variant of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
Baguio had 407 active Covid-19 cases as of August 24.
The ROF arrived in July, underwent a 14-day isolation in Manila, and was already tagged as recovered before allowed to go home here.
Mayor Benjamin Magalong, Jr. said they want to assure the other passengers’ safety.
“We are currently conducting contact tracing of 16 passengers who rode with him in a sweeper bus to Baguio,” Magalong said in a text message.
The Department of Health-Cordillera Administrative Region, in an advisory on August 15, confirmed the two Delta variant cases.
The other Delta case, an employee of an English language school in Barangay Camp 7, tested positive for Covid-19 after a swab test on July 24.
Magalong said 10 of the more than 100 co-employees also tested positive, causing the city government to place the facility under hard lockdown for 10 days last month.
DOH-CAR is currently backtracking the close contacts. It was not known yet if the school employee has already recovered.
The faculty member of the language school was reportedly one of the alleged attendees of a birthday party on July 9 but started having Covid symptoms on July 12 and tested positive on July 21.
Magalong ordered immediate lockdown of the language school for at least 10 days aside from the aggressive contact tracing and the sharing of information to the nearby municipalities of Tuba, Itogon, Atok and Buguias in Benguet where some close contacts had visited over the past several days.
Before the Delta cases were recorded, Magalong said he was already expecting a surge in cases because of the highly transmissible variant.
The city is increasing capacity of temporary treatment and monitoring facilities, which now has over a thousand beds.
This is to augment the facilities of village and private company isolation areas, and the Covid-19 wards in hospitals for symptomatic patients.
A budget of at least P8 million is on standby to aid hospitals that will need to purchase and stock up on oxygen, supplies, and medicines.
Since Monday, non-essential travelers from general community quarantine (GCQ) and modified GCQ areas were allowed entry to the city if fully vaccinated or with negative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction test result taken at least 72 hours prior to travel.
Entry of other non-essential travelers from areas with higher quarantine classifications remain suspended.
The first patient infected with the Delta variant recovered, the DOH said.
The first Delta variant case in the city had infected three family members including a senior citizen, a village hardware store worker.
Close contacts had been reported in nearby La Trinidad, the capital town of Benguet.
The mayor earlier estimated the Delta variant will hit the city hard and its effects will be longer.
The DOH-Cordillera reminded residents to strictly comply with the minimum public health standards and adhere to the guidelines and protocols set by local authorities.
The people were also strongly advised to avoid unnecessary travel. – With a report from Liza Agoot/PNA
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