No telemed calls made last week as zero home isolated patients recorded

There have been no calls made by volunteer health practitioners using the city’s ‘Bantay Covid’ free telemedicine platform from March 22 to 28 since there were zero home isolated patients in the Summer Capital due to the coronavirus disease virus 2019 (Covid-19) in the same period.       

This was revealed by City Health Services Office chief Dr. Rowena Galpo during the regular management committee meeting of local officials, March 29, led by Mayor Benjamin Magalong at Baguio Convention Center.      

The city is currently under Alert Level 1 until March 31 due to the rapid decrease in active Covid-19 cases.    

She said the volume of calls made using the platform from January 24 to March 28 was 2092 and the number of registered users for the same period was 153.

The number of home isolated patients peaked at 2,298 on January 31 and the previous low was two tallied on March 21, Galpo revealed.      

Based on a Quezon City model, the digital platform was modified to fit the needs of Baguio’s residents and spearheaded by the Health Services Office in collaboration with the City Mayor’s Office’s Management Information and Technology Division and the Baguio-Benguet Medical Society.

The Mayor said the system allows those who are under home quarantine to interact with health professionals and feel the concern of local government and also acts as a monitoring device that checks on their progress and gathers appropriate data. – Gaby B. Keith