Mayor discourages ‘fist bumps’, says greet with elbows instead
NO MORE ‘FIST BUMPS’. Baguio City mayor Benjamin B. Magalong during the City Hall Hour with members of the media on Wednesday, September 22, 2021 urges the public to use their elbows or to just not touch each other when greeting, and avoid fist bumps as study says that there is already transmission using such form of greeting. //Merriam del Rosario-FNS
BAGUIO CITY – Mayor Benjamin B. Magalong during the City Hall Hour on Wednesday, September 22, 2021 reminded the public to avoid fist bumps as a form of greeting, saying there is already a study proving transmission through fist bumps.
As people around the world sought to curb the spread of the COVID-19 virus, the ‘fist bump’, where two people briefly press their closed fists together, has been widely used to replace the traditional handshake.
The mayor urged the public to be extra careful while the city is addressing the 25 active cases of the more virulent Delta variant recently recorded.
He suggested the use of elbows to greet or better yet to not touch each other, and be free from the risk of infection.
“Mag-ingat po tayo lagi at iwasan na po natin ang nag gri-greet tayo ng ganito [fist bump], meron na pong transmission dyan, there is already a study,” the mayor said. (Let us always be careful and avoid greeting each other like this [fist bump], transmission is already going on there.)
According to the City Health Services Office, the number of active cases rose from 1,585 on the week covering September 5-11 to 1,793 on the week covering September 12-18, equivalent to 218 to 256 patients a day or an increase of 17.6 percent.
Deaths also rocketed by 126 percent from 23 (four per day) to 52 (seven per day).
The mayor also said that a new highest single-day record was posted at 411 last September 18, resulting from a four-day dumping of accumulated results due to the volume of specimens being processed daily.
On Saturday, September 25 the mayor issued Executive Order No. 119-2021 extending the suspension of non-essential travels to Baguio City until October 3, 2021; implementing a temporary modified liquor ban until October 10, 2021 from 8pm to 12pm of the following day; and extending home restrictions for all persons aged 17 and below.
Baguio City has been upgraded to General Community Quarantine (GCQ) with heightened restrictions effective Friday, September 24, 2021 until September 30, 2021.//Merriam del Rosario-FNS
