Oct. logs 1,000 plus Covid cases as Baguio breaches 2,000 mark

October has been bad for this city as coronavirus disease (Covid-19) infections spiked with more than 1,000 confirmed cases in 29 days to push the total past the 2,000 mark.
With some 1,117 since October 1, total cases now stands at 2,054, records from the Public Information Office – Baguio showed. That means about 260 people get infected a week or about 37 a day as mayor Benjamin Magalong vowed to actively undertake testing on risk groups and intensify contact tracing efforts.
Magalong has been named the country’s contact tracing czar. With such efforts that started in August, the city saw a steady climb in confirmed cases. Baguio tallied a measly 103 cases last July 29, which tripled to 310 by August 27 and by end of September, the figure has risen to 937 cases.
Two villages were the center of city health official’s attention starting late September – barangay Slaughterhouse and Lower Lourdes Subdivisions with butchers and police trainees contracting the disease. Slaughterhouse, the city’s abattoir, was declared under hard lockdown for two weeks until October 4.
Infections outpaced recovery during the period with some 860 recovered patients for the 29 day period. The seven-day period until October 15 saw an average of 41.28 recoveries or 289 recoveries
against the 257 recorded confirmed cases for that week, the only week where recoveries outpaced infections.
The highest recovery for a day was also logged that week – 106 discharged patients. After registering a 302 case for the October 2-8 period, infection went down to about 15 percent or 257 then slightly dipped to 254 on October 16-22, but slightly increased to 262 for the period ending October 29.
Of the 59 confirmed cases last Thursday, October 29, 30 are from contract tracing, while 21 accounted from expanded testing, seven were symptomatic and one from work requirement. Total active cases now stand at 651 after eight patients were discharged. Baguio has 1,376 recovered patients for a 67 percent recovery rate. The total number of tests made Thursday was 1,460 of which four percent were positive.
Total tests done in the city is now 58,141 or about 16.6 percent of the 350,000 population. The region, meanwhile has some 3,575 confirmed cases of which some 60.7 percent are from Baguio, about 31.5 or 1,065 are from Benguet, while the five other provinces account for the roughly eight percent cases.

Amianan Balita Ngayon