Updates on Delta contingency measures
6 August 2021 – Pursuant to Mayor Benjamin Magalong’s order for the speeding up of compliance to the contingency measures on the Delta variant, the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) under officer-in-charge Antonette Anaban gave an update during the Management Committee (ManComm) meeting last August 3.
*On border control, stricter monitoring is being done at the checkpoints and triage especially of arrivals along with inter-local government unit (BLISTT) coordination. The city issued Advisory No. 07-2021 on Temporary Suspension of Non-essential Travels to Baguio last July 30, 2021 and reiterated the order mandating the accommodation establishments to require their guests to present travel documents before check-in. Violation of the EO can lead to revocation of a business permits.
* On quarantine policy, the city is imposing strict completion of quarantine or isolation of returning overseas Filipinos in a facility especially those coming from high-risk countries. Ninety percent of cases are being lodged in isolation and hospital facilities.
*On vaccination program, vaccination of vulnerable groups, fast-tracking of the second dose, a continuation of the mobile vaccination in barangays and setting up of more vaccination sites continues.
Sixty-eight of the 128 barangays have submitted lists of unvaccinated senior citizens and persons with comorbidities. Barangays had been tasked to work out identification and convincing of susceptible persons to undergo vaccination otherwise they would have to explain in case a vulnerable constituent dies unvaccinated.
*On minimum public health standards compliance, monitoring and suspension of activities that do not strictly comply with the MPHS, conducting a regular and random inspection of business establishments monitoring of public places even in the barangay level and limiting mass gatherings continue.
The red teams had inspected 132 establishments where 91 passed the safety seal requirements. A total of 18 are for inspection and 41 for reinspection
*On contact tracing, training of private sector contact tracers continues while hiring of additional contact tracers is still being worked out. The Baguio City Police Office has also designated additional contact trainers to augment the city’s teams.
*On testing, the city sustains testing capacity with an average of 462 tests done daily.
*On isolation and quarantine rules and facilities, strict implementation of isolation and quarantine policies for active cases and facility-based isolation is being maintained like immediate isolation and quarantine of active case, facility-based isolation with only less than 10 percent of active cases on home isolation. The Baguio City Community Isolation Unit will be expanded while the city will continue to scout for other sites to serve as a temporary facility. Eurotel and Ferioni apartment will again serve as temporary isolation facilities for one month while there are ready to use nine collapsible units at the Baguio Convention Center.
An accordion policy is in place to convert and reconvert regular hospital beds to intensive care unit beds.
Manpower augmentation is also being worked out through emergency hiring and augmentation from the Philippine National Police, Philippine Coast Guard, Bureau of Fire Protection, Department of Education and others.
*On lockdowns, the imposition of granular lockdowns over puroks with critical clusters and those with low compliance with minimum public health standards is strictly implemented.
*On real-time referral and coordination of cases, case referral and navigation system through the Baguio One Hospital Command is in place and currently augmented by the Baguio City Police Office, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, Public Order and Safety Division and CDRRMO volunteers.
*On critical equipment, medicines and supplies, hospitals had submitted their inventories of oxygen, tanks, concentrators and oxygenators, personal protective equipment, disinfectants and others.
The General Services Office and City Health Services Office have procured 250 tanks of oxygen to be delivered this week and to be stored at the CDRRMO. The city council had approved the request of the mayor to enter into a memorandum of agreement with the Baguio General Hospital for the purchase of critical medicines amounting to P 8.1 million expected to be delivered after two to three weeks.
The august body also approved the request of the CDRRMO to charge P10 per liter of the hypochlorous acid being produced by the city’s disinfectant machine while hospitals will be given weekly supply free of charge.
*Programs on mental health and wellness of frontliners continue.
*Modified liquor prohibition continues while liquor ban is in place in construction sites and barracks and in training centers.
* Alternative work arrangement is in place at government offices while private establishments are encouraged to adopt a reduced manpower capacity. The Commission on Higher Education has also been requested to ensure the safety of the face-to-face class arrangements.
* Mass gatherings had been reduced to 30 percent venue capacity and monitoring continues. Non-work-related mass gatherings should secure clearance from the City Mayor’s Office after inspection by the CHSO while barangay level mass gatherings have to have clearance from the concerned barangay. – Aileen P. Refuerzo
