Cordillera records 11 days doubling time; 89% case recovery rate

June 1, 2020 Metro BLISTT

BAGUIO CITY – The Cordillera region has recorded an 11-day doubling time for new cases of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), the officer in charge of the regional health office said Tuesday.

Dr. Amelita Pangilinan said they last recorded a positive case on May 15 or 12 days ago.

“Our doubling time is 11 days, mas matagal na bago madagdagan (it now takes a longer time before new cases are recorded),” Pangilinan said.

The latest two cases in Baguio City were a 41-year-old male police officer and a 32-
year-old male nurse while Benguet had two overseas Filipino workers as its latest cases who are still confined at the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center (BGHMC) but are in stable condition.

A total of 46 cases were recorded in the region — four active cases, one death, and 41 recoveries or 89 percent of the total number of cases.

The provinces of Mountain Province, Kalinga, and Apayao have maintained their status as free from Covid-19, some 72 days after the declaration of the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine.

Pangilinan said despite the good numbers recorded in the region, it is not an indication that the curve has flattened as the low number could be a reflection of the low testing capacity.

She said the region conducts 100 to 300 tests daily. “If we are testing 700 to 800 at ganun pa rin ang statistics ng cases, pwede na natin masabi (and the case statistics remain the same, then we can say [we have flattened the curve]),” Pangilinan said.

She said the region would see the gains soon enough with the delivery of more testing kits, personal protective equipment, effective contact tracing, and residents complying with the rules on the use of face mask and staying home.

Pangilinan said the BGHMC is increasing its testing capacity from 100 to 300 and hopefully, to 1,200 a day.

From only one polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing machine, it now has five machines.

During his visit last week, the chief implementer of the country’s National Policy against Covid-19, Carlito Galvez Jr., brought with him 200 PCR testing kits good for 10,000 tests, as well as 8,200 complete sets of PPE and 1,300 rapid testing kits.

Pangilinan said the accreditation of the Ilocos Training and Regional Medical Center in San Fernando City, La Union as a Covid-19 testing center is a welcome development because it would mean that samples from the Ilocos region no longer need to be processed by the BGHMC.

She said that the Cagayan Valley Medical Center is also in the process of accreditation. (PNA)