Baguio may have had Delta since June

 CITY HALL BEAT

Aileen P. Refuerzo

BAGUIO CITY -- The first Delta infection in this summer capital may have had occurred as early as June even as link analysis yielded 130 persons linked to the Delta case.
    All the more than 20 positive cases recovered and had mild symptoms except one who went severe before recuperating.
Executive Assistant V. Felipe Puzon Jr. of the city’s lead contact tracing team said back tracing and repeat interviews done on first confirmed Delta variant patient and contacts revealed details pointing to the probability that the Delta variant infection may have started in the city around June.
    Mayor Benjamin Magalong on Aug 16 said initial back tracing showed that the variant may have been in the city since July.
    But further investigation by the lead contact tracing team showed that one co-worker of the patient started experiencing symptoms on June 19.
    Puzon said the said person had also been traveling prior to the onset of symptoms.
    He said the team is now establishing if said person is the index Delta case even as back tracing and link analysis continue to track down all contacts for administering of control measures like repeat tests and monitoring.
    The first local Delta case, a 23-year old male English as Secondary Language (ESL) teacher is part of the cluster of over 20 individuals who tested positive for the Covid-19 last July and recovered.
    Although he was the first to be detected with the variant, it does not mean that he was the source of the infection especially since he was not the index case in the cluster, according to the mayor.
    All of them are now being looked into as probable Delta variant cases but the mayor said the number could go as high as 86.
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This, as Mayor Magalong said last week Baguio City’s contact tracing efficiency has remained up to mark.
    “Our cumulative contact tracing ratio is at one patient to 14 contacts (1:14) so we’re good considering the fact that Delta variant’s infection rate is at 1:6 or 1:8.  We’re okay when it comes to our contact tracing,” he said.
    He said the ratio went down in the past two weeks to 1:11 because most of those infected were on a work-from-home arrangement reducing the number of their contacts.
    “Some companies heeded our earlier call to reduce manpower capacity by 50 percent so marami sa nagkaroon infection nasa work-from-home kaya konti and close contacts so that was one of the major factors kaya bumaba pero our cumulative ration remains at 1:14,” he said.
    As part of its multi-pronged contingency measures against the Delta variant, the city worked to maintain its contact tracing capability.
    The mayor said the city trained volunteers from the Baguio City Police Office and the private sector particularly the business process outsourcing (BPO) companies for augmentation.
    He said the partnership with the private sector through the BPO companies with large manpower to help in the contact tracing operations of local government units is being done nationwide.

At present, there are 62 contact tracers from the BCPO while the city has 102.

    The city is keeping track of its contingency plans against the Delta variant which include stockpiling of critical medicines, oxygen and apparatus for hospitals and facilities, establishment of more isolation beds in preparation for increased hospitalizations and enhancement of border control, lockdown rules, contact tracing, testing, isolation, vaccination and other     Prevent-Detect-Isolate-Treat-Reintegrate (PDITR) strategies