Tabuk City Covid-free Again

June 20, 2020 Headlines

Tabuk City, (June 17, 2020) Kalinga’s capital, is COVID-19-free again.
The Tabuk City Health Office (CHO) in its report to the Provincial Inter-Agency Task Force said that six of the earlier confirmed positive was found negative after their second swab testing.
A total of 125 front liners, who are close contacts of the six positive cases in the city were subjected to swab testing.
Samples were sent to Baguio General Hospital Medical Center (BGHMC) Tuesday night and the CHO is currently waiting for the results.
Contact tracing of second, third and fourth level contacts are also underway. The CHO said that direct contacts were subjected to swab testing while individuals identified in other levels of contact are being subjected to rapid testing.
Meanwhile, patients K-03, K-04, K-05 and K-06, who were referred to the Cagayan Valley Medical Center on June 14, tested negative for COVID-19 in their repeat test as confirmed by CVMC Chief Dr.
Glen Matthew Baggao. The 4 patients will undergo 14-day quarantine and will be subjected for a third swab testing.
Moreover, the swab test result of patients K-01 and K-02, which were sent to BGHMC last Saturday, yielded negative results. Both patients are currently confined at the COVID-19 Isolation Unit of Kalinga Provincial Hospital.
While the private-run “Balik Probinsya” initiative “Oplan Padatong”, that reportedly breached established health protocols, is being blamed for the city’s sudden spike of cases.
Almost all the six cases were beneficiaries of the said initiative by private individuals in that city.
“Padatong” is “to bring home” in the local Kalinga vernacular.
A medical frontliner who begged off to be named lambasting the “Oplan Padatong” said, ‘their misplaced zealousness resulted to a grim scenario in the city.’
“With their passion to bring home as much stranded individuals as they can, protocol for those returning had been compromised or breached by either stranded residents or “Oplan Padatong” itself,” an irked Tabuk City resident complained.
Tabuk City Health officials said some of the LSI’s only showed barangay certifications that they are stranded and that they are cleared to go home, as opposed to the declaration of “Oplan Padatong” that all LSI’s have undergone rapid testing being brought home. No rapid test results were presented, the Tabuk CHO said.
Sources hinted organizers of “Oplan Padatong” were able to acquire their travel pass via alleged “connection” at the DILG and did not pass thru the requirements of the City Government to acquire the said pass.
Organizers of “Oplan Padatong” could be held accountable for what they did, said a member of the COVID19 Incident Management Team of Tabuk City.