Benguet fortifies defenses as 4 delta variant cases detected

La Trinidad, Benguet (August 29, 2021)—- Benguet Governor Melchor Daguines Diclas called on the Health Cluster of the Provincial Inter-Agency Task Force (PIATF) for Corona Virus Disease (Covid-19) to strenthen the province’s defense system against the virus after the Department of Health (DOH)confirmed that there are four cases of Delta Variant detected in the province.

On August 28, 2021, the DOH confirmed that two of the said cases are from La Trinidad, and one each from Buguias and Tuba.   The case from Buguias, a 34-year-old male, and one from La Trinidad, a 32-year-old male, are still recovering while one has recovered and the other died.

The death case is a 56-year-old male from La Trinidad who was admitted to a local hospital on August 7, 2021 and was reported dead on August 12, 2021.

Contact-tracing for the said cases are now ongoing.

Meanwhile, over the past days, the Provincial Health Office (PHO) has noticed doubling of CoVID-19 cases in the province.  On August 27, 2021, there were 90 new cases reported bringing the total number of active cases in the province to 605. Also, based on the situational report of the DOH, the bed capacity of hospitals in Benguet is at 85%.

The provincial government stated that those who are below 15 years old, over sixty-five (65) years old, those with immunodeficiency, comorbidity, or other health risks, and pregnant women are strictly not allowed to go out of their residences per guidelines. Non-essential travels are also being discouraged.

The police at the border checkpoints are tasked to continuously strictly implement the ‘no negative RT-PCR test or proof of being fully-vaccinated, no entry’ for non-Benguet residents.

Diclas already called a meeting for the members of the Benguet PIATF for September 1 to further discuss CoVID-19 response. He continues to remind the public to strictly adhere to the minimum public health standards and to avoid going out if not necessary.

Artemio A. Dumlao