54 new cases, 2 deaths in a week

August 22, 2020 Headlines

Fifty-four coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases were registered this week in the city half of which on August 14 alone, the biggest so far for the city and breaking the previous single day high of 25 last August 12.
The total confirmed cases have risen to 270, a big jump from the 214 that was registered until August 13. Two deaths were also logged this week, both senior citizens, bringing the eight. The first is a 67-year-old male last Saturday and the other is 93-year-old female, who had prior illness, last Wednesday, the oldest so far in the region breaking the 85-year-old logged in Abra.
The city also has the youngest death, a two-day old baby. With nine patients discharged also on Friday, Baguio has 161 recoveries against 101 active cases or a 59.62 recovery rate.
Of the Friday data, the Public Information Office – Baguio said that the new cases involve a three males ages 34, 53 and 59. The other five cases are females ages 29, 4, 69, 30 and 26. The PIO again reminded the citizenry to “Adhere to health protocols which include going out only for essential transactions; wearing facemasks and face-shields. This is our New Normal.”
“Yung eight (of the 27) minors lahat, contact ng existing patients (All the eight cases are minors who are contacts of existing patients),” said Aileen Refuerzo, chief of the Public Information Office – Baguio, referring to Baguio’s single day high of 27.
Refuerzo added that 22 of the cases are contacts of previous cases, adding that three “were a result of expanded testing and two were walk-in patients who presented with symptoms.” The eight minors are ages 1, 2, 4, 4, 9, 11, 12, and 17 with the oldest as female and the rest are males.
Refuerzo also added the Baguio logged the biggest single day recovery of 14 last Wednesday. Groceries Next in Line for Mandatory Testing City authorities and owners of grocery stores and supermarkets under the Baguio-Benguet Entrepreneurs and Traders Association agreed to cooperate to pursue the mandatory testing of all grocery workers and set lockdown procedures to follow in the occurrence of Coronavirus disease (COVID- 19) infection.
In a consultation meeting held August 15, Mayor Benjamin Magalong promised to help the association avail of low-cost tests to enable its members to comply with his order to pay for the COVID tests of all their workers.
The mayor issued the order last August 12 after a clustering of COVID positive cases occurred in one supermarket proving the vulnerability of the sector to the disease. He said the testing requirement like what he imposed on banking companies recently would determine who are infected and immediately facilitate control measures to arrest the transmission.
Association members admitted they are hard up in complying with the 100 percent swab testing requirement due to the high cost of Reverse Transcriptase-Polymerase Chain Reaction tests. The mayor said he will work out an arrangement for the association to avail of low-priced test kits as soon as possible. Magalong said that around 5,000-grocery and supermarket personnel in Baguio will undergo Covid-19 testing in the coming weeks.
More Covid Beds in Isolation Centers with the Department of Health granting license for the quarantine facility at Teachers’ Camp to also operate as a community isolation unit with a 90-bed capacity and for the Baguio City Community Isolation Unit at Sto. Niño Jesus Medical Center to expand its bed capacity from 45 to 90.
Last August 19, City Administrator Bonifacio Dela Peña announced plans to augment Teachers’ Camp’s bed capacity to 300 in anticipation of the surge in cases due to targeted testings’ and to further expand Sto. Niño’s to 150 beds in three months.
Plans are also afoot for the establishment of a 16-bed temporary quarantine facility and triage at the Baguio Convention Center.
PML