City ‘very gradual’ increase in Covid cases due to high jab rate, wearing of facemasks — Mayor

Mayor Benjamin Magalong said that while Coronavirus Disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases in the Summer Capital are on an uptick, the rate of increase is on a ‘very gradual’ pace and not as fast as when the Delta variant struck many months back.

As of this time, the Mayor assured, the possibility of the city’s current status under Alert Level 1 of being raised to Level 2 is very remote.

The low number of cases, he said, is due to Baguio’s high vaccination rate that hit almost 110 percent with many senior citizens, immuno-compromised individuals and health workers now getting their second booster shots.

The Mayor is encouraging those in the vulnerable sectors who are seen to benefit most from a second booster shot to have themselves inoculated.

He said that the high compliance of residents in wearing facemask is another reason for the low number of Covid-19 cases.

The Mayor said earlier that the city  will continue to strictly implement the wearing of face masks and other provisions under Covid-19 Alert Level 1 and adhere to the directives of the National Task Force-Inter-Agency Task Force (NTF-IATF) on Emerging Infectious Diseases (EID) in the ongoing fight against the pandemic.

Magalong disclosed, however, of receiving reports that some individuals from outside Baguio have been seen not wearing face masks while visiting the City of Pines.

The Mayor is appealing to his fellow officials of other local government units to remind their constituents that they should strictly adhere to minimum public health standards including the wearing of face masks when visiting Baguio.

Magalong said he is issuing another executive order directing the Baguio City Police Office and the Public Order and Safety Division to strictly implement the wearing of face masks in the city starting June 27. – Gaby B. Keith