CLOSE to 5,000 individuals in Baguio City, La Trinidad, Itogon and Tuba in Benguet Province were tested during the weekend for coronavirus disease (Covid-19).
In a report by the Baguio City Public Information office (PIO), 4,198 individuals were swabbed, including personnel from the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) and the Philippine Military Academy (PMA), during the three-day Aggressive Community Testing (ACT) for Baguio City and the Benguet towns of Itogon, Tuba and La Trinidad.
Of the more than 4,000 tested from November 5 to 7, only 177 have tested positive.
The three-day testing was spearheaded by the National Task Force on Emerging Infectious Disease (NTF-EID) through Secretary Vince Dizon, the designated testing czar for Covid.
The ACT implementation, in partnership with the Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA) and John Hay Management Corporation (JHMC), is in response to the request of the Cordillera Regional Task Force (RTF-Covid-19) through its chairperson, Civil Defense Regional Director Albert Mogol, and Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong.
The three-day activity from November 5 to 7 targets 5,000 individuals -- 2,000 for Itogon and 1,000 each for Tuba, La Trinidad and Baguio City.
Mark Torres of BCDA ACT Team reported that on November 5, 1,530 individuals were tested with 761 in Itogon, 476 in Tuba and 293 in La Trinidad.
Mogol stressed the need for aggressive community testing, especially in Tuba and Itogon where sudden increase of cases were noted, particularly in mining companies and communities.
With the alarming increase in cases, the concerned municipal local government units and the provincial LGU must also prioritize adding more DOH-certified or assessed Temporary Treatment and Monitoring Facilities (TTMFs) and community isolation facilities to protect their population from more infections, Mogol added.
DOH-CAR Assistant Director Amelita Pangilinan, who manages the Regional One Hospital Command Center, also reminded LGUs that confirmed cases, be it asymptomatic or not, must be either in hospitals or TTMFs.
For Baguio City, DOH-certified TTMFs are the Sto. Niño Isolation Facility and two halls at Teachers Camp with 310 total bed capacity.
For Benguet, there are three DOH certified TTMFs all located in La Trinidad with 90 total bed capacity.
The City Government of Baguio also partnered with Oplan Kalinga of the NTF-EID for the use of V Dormitories as a TTMF for asymptomatic patients. Baguio City also shared one dorm with 75 beds of the said TTMF for the use of asymptomatic patients from Itogon, Benguet.
Based on DOH Epidemic Risk Level (as of November 4), which assessment is based on the combined measure of Average Daily Growth Rate and 2-week growth rate, the municipalities of Itogon and Tuba are at high risk, while La Trinidad and Baguio City are medium risk.
The NTF-EID conducted Aggressive Community Testing in Baguio-Benguet last October 27 to 30, wherein 5,172 individuals from Baguio City, La Trindad, Itogon, Tuba, Tublay and Kapangan were tested.
At least 257 tested positive, which is equivalent to 4.97 percent positivity rate. (SunStar Baguio/With PIA-CAR)