Baguio bizmen urged heighten safety rules

By Liza Agoot  

BAGUIO CITY -- Mayor Benjamin Magalong urged establishments catering to large number of clients to heighten implementation of safety protocols after four workers of a remittance center were found positive of the virus.

“Heighten (your) health and safety measures to prevent disease contraction and transmission,” said Magalong, the country’s contact tracing czar.

On Thursday, the Public Information Office-Baguio reported five more cases, four from the remittance center, ere added as a result of the continuing expanded testing in high-risk establishments.

On Sept. 2, nine of the 12 cases recorded were also discovered through the expanded testing of the high-risk sectors.

Aileen Refuerzo, chief information officer, said the city continues to find ways to sustain its expanded testing program to locate more positive patients and immediately implement control measures.

Last week, she said the city conducted the Philippine Red Cross' Reverse Transcription -Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) tests, through the help of Covid-19 Program Deputy Chief Implementer Secretary Vince Dizon, which covered a total of 824 persons from high-risk sectors.

She said 14 turned out to be infected indicating a positivity rate of 1.7 percent.

Refuerzo said that according to the mayor, the PRC has set another round of tests from September 17 to 19 targeting 3,000 residents here, and 1,000 tests for the BLISTT (Benguet, La Trinidad, Itogon, Sablan, Tuba and Tublay) area on Sept. 18.

From August 28 to September 3, a total of 54 cases were recorded in Baguio with 38 of them coming from the expanded testing in the high-risk sectors. -- PNA