Baguio City braces for COVID’s Omicron variant

December 11, 2021 Metro BLISTT

The city is bracing for the arrival of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 and another surge is expected before the celebration of Christmas. “We will adapt the measures we used in combatting the Delta variant,” said mayor Benjamin Magalong Wednesday at the Lafaayete Hotel during the opening of the hotel’s Apsara Restaurant.
Magalong told this writer that they have already drawn an action plan to battle the new variant and whatever it will bring including stocking up on medicines, put up of more isolation facilities and they will “review the action plan” once the variant has arrived.
He said the city has also stepped up on its vaccination drive and are now seeking people who have signed up but has not taken the jab.
“We (will step up on our) vaccination efforts to really convince (those in the) list of registrants to take the vaccine. Isaisahin (One person at a time)) to convince them (and take the jab) and help contain it (Omicron variant surge),” Magalong said.
Magalong said that they fast track vaccination and may even call those that need to be vaccinated if needed as he said that they have to do this in the next two weeks in time for the surge brought about by the more contagious Omicron variant.
Magalong vowed to take all the necessary precautionary measures even the gradual closing of borders to tourists, because it is a “must” to avoid spread of the new variant.
In a statement posted over the Public Information Office – Baguio, Magalong said: “I am hoping that Omicron will not hit us this Christmas but looking at the the latest developments, there is a big possibility.”
He added: “ I don’t like to spoil our Christmas but I really hope we will be spared.” Magalong said the city and its frontline health workers have high level of confidence in dealing with the new variant as they have done last September when the Delta variant wreak havoc that cases reached 7,073 new ones and active ones peaking at 4,686.
Death for September rose to 148 but was topped by October when the city logged 171.
However, cases dropped the second half of October and which was sustained by November when the city reached a double digit new cases and a measly single digit before the end of the month and sustained by December.
After three days with a single death each, no death was logged Wednesday and Thursday here. The first nine days of this month saw 37 infections or more than four per day against recovery of 97 or about 11 a day as active cases drop to 42.
Pigeon Lobien/ABN