Baguio City sustaining downtrend in Covid cases but mayor warns vs. complacency

Baguio City may be seeing a sustained downtrend in Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases but Mayor Benjamin Magalong has said there should be no room for complacency in the implementation of control measures and observance of the health protocols. 

“Even if our cases had gone down to single digits, we still regard the actual number as twice the reported one because there are still cases that are unreported.  Moreover, we continue to receive reports on Delta variant cases so we cannot relax.  Instead, we remain very vigilant,” the mayor said Nov. 22. 

He said the city will sustain its contact tracing efficiency and testing capacity as well as its aggressive vaccination program to ensure that virus transmission remains under control. 

“It’s a good thing that we have high vaccination rate and high compliance with the minimum public health standards by our residents and which we also impose among our visitors so coupled with continued testing and contact tracing, we can keep our cases down despite the presence of the Delta variant,” the mayor said.

He however dashed hopes of the city achieving zero cases in a day.

“Hopefully we will be able to lower our cases further but there is no way that we can achieve zero casez at this time.  I don’t think that is at all achievable but it is possible to sustain it at a very low single digit level,” he said.

He urged people to continue adhering to the health and safety standards:  Wear face masks, observe physical distancing, handwashing, cough and sneeze etiquette, avoid crowd, confined spaces and close contact conversations, open windows for proper ventilation, get vaccinated and even if fully-inoculated, continue self-protection. – Aileen P. Refuerzo