Baguio City Hall Shuts Down As COVID19 Surge

August 5, 2020 JUST IN

BAGUIO CITY (August 5, 2020) – A surge in cases of the Coronavirus disease (Covid-19) Tuesday night seeing16 infections including three Baguio City employees forced Mayor Benjamin Magalong to shut down the Baguio City Hall until Friday.
Magalong also ordered the closure of PFVR gym stopping the processing and issuance of travel documents where the three city employees are assigned.
Magalong in an advisory late Tuesday said “we are closing the facility and suspending the processing of travel documents effective tomorrow, August 5, to give way for disinfection and further testing.”
The advisory noted that closing City Hall is a precautionary measure that “will allow only a limited number of workforce to ensure the continuity of operations.”
He said contact tracing is underway while advising those “who visited PFVR and City Hall from July 29 to present are requested to go on self-quarantine and to seek medical attention at the onset of symptoms.”
On Monday, the city recorded the highest single day cases of 16.
The cases involve a 21-year old male from Upper QM; 27-year old female from Balsigan; 32-year old male from San Luis; 35-year old female from Sto. Niño; 55-year old male from City Camp Proper; 26-year old male with address at La Trinidad; 26-year old male from Kias; 35-year old male from Irisan; 42-year old female from San Luis Village; 46-year old male, 58 and 31-year old females, all from Camp 7; 55-year old male from Pacdal; 54-year old female and 39-year male from Campo Filipino; and 32-year old female from Teacher’s Village.
Magalong has then “appealed to the public to avoid unnecessary travels outside of their homes and the city for the next two weeks to prevent further spread of the virus.”
“Please stay home and avoid travels unless absolutely necessary. And please sustain all our health protocols, too. It’s the best we can do to safeguard ourselves and our families,” the mayor said.
Public Information Office – Baguio chief Aileen Refuerzo said that the scheduled “Ugnayan” presser with Baguio media at City Hall Wednesday has been moved to another day.
With the 16 new cases, Baguio has 79 active COVID19 cases for a total confirmed infections of 144. Though the city also logged four recoveries on Monday for a total of 62.
Baguio accounted three of the four deaths in the Cordillera region.
Baguio City’s new cases brought the total confirmed cases in the region to 321. Benguet has 80 of which 27 are active cases, Abra has 36 and 25 active, Kalinga with 29 against 20 active, Apayao has 20 and four active ones, Ifugao with 18 and seven, while Mountain Province has five and only a single remaining active case.
Abra is the other Cordillera local government unit that logged a mortality last July 31, an 85-year old woman.
Abra governor Ma. Jocelyn Valera-Bernos has suspended all social and mass gatherings in the province starting Monday this week after Abra saw its biggest surge of COVID19 Sunday with 16 fresh cases.
Bernos cited the sudden increase in confirmed cases involving cases transmitted locally, the first COVID19 death and that some of those fresh cases are front liners assigned in different communities, as primary reasons for her suspension of all mass gatherings province-wide.
She advised all government offices, town mayors including barangay chairmen to suspend all gatherings even work-related, educational, religious activities and even indoor sports activities in gyms and other public areas, while encouraging the use of online platforms or electronic means to transact businesses.
Coming in late Sunday afternoon were seven new cases the Abra provincial health office said – three workers from the Abra Provincial Hospital; one from the Governor’s Office; two returning local residents of Bucay town; and a front liner in Villaviciosa town.
This as from Abra’s 9 active COVID19 cases Saturday, 9 turned in Sunday morning, said Abra governor Ma. Jocelyn Bernos, identifying them only as “AC21-29” (6 from Lacub town; 1 Bangued; 1 Pidigan and 1 Pennarubia).
With the 7 additional cases Sunday, “AC30-AC36”, Abra active cases hiked to 25 for a total of 36, with 10 recoveries.
A 9PM-4AM curfew was also imposed by Gov. Bernos around Abra that started Saturday night after the Provincial anti-COVID19 Task Force executive committee ruled to impose the curfew as yet another measure to thwart the spread of the disease.
Work at the Governor’s Office, Administrator’s Office and at the Abra provincial hospital were also suspended.
Artemio A. Dumlao