Baguio races to attain Covid-19 ‘flat curve’

By Aileen P. Refuerzo

BAGUIO CITY -- While the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) contagion rages in other parts of the country, Baguio City races to attain the coveted "flat curve" or that state of virus containment.

Mayor Benjamin Magalong said today is the 8th day since the city had its last confirmed Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) case on March 28, 2020 and if this trend keeps in the coming days then the city can claim to have truly "flattened the curve" or reined in the insidious disease.

"Until then, we should continue holding the line by sustaining our vigilance and not lapsing into complacency," the mayor issued this appeal to his constituents to whom he partly credits the gains of the anti-COVID-19 campaign.

"Thus far our COVID-19 cases have not actually become exponential because we have an obedient and cooperative community and hardworking frontliners and supportive backliners," he said.

He also cites the strong working link between the city government, national line agencies led by the Department of Health Cordillera and the Inter-Agency Task Force and the private sector.

The other factors that might have contributed to the city's initial gains are the early imposition of preventive measures like public health etiquettes on hand washing, cough and sneeze manners, cancellation of Panagbenga and crowd-drawing events, cancellation of classes and imposition of community quarantine, closure of borders, thermal scanning, sanitation tents and the use of technology in detection and in contact tracing.

There were also the "out-of-box" solutions like deviations from protocols like the early imposition of requirement on the wearing of masks, declaration of cases and conduct of contact tracing ahead of confirmation of positive cases and the patients' identity disclosure that facilitated early detection and prevented transmission. - Aileen P. Refuerzo