City Mayor Benjamin Magalong extended until Aug. 15 the suspension of non-essential travels to Baguio regardless of place of origin as a preemptive measure against the threat of Covid-19 Delta variant.
In an advisory, the mayor said “the extension of the temporary suspension of non-essential travels from all areas is appropriate and necessary, especially so that this is a crucial time to fully assess actions on border management, contact tracing, and patient management in all health facilities.”
On July 31, the city government announced only travelers with indispensable purposes will be allowed to enter following border protocol such as registration to the hdf.baguio.gov.ph website, and presentation of valid identification card and negative RT-PCR test result valid for 72 hours prior to entry or vaccination passport for fully vaccinated individuals.
The same guideline will be implemented until Aug. 15. Tourists are not allowed.
“Once again, I caution everyone to limit travels outside of the city, unless it is absolutely necessary. Let us continue to keep our guards up, and be mindful of standard health protocols at all times,” the mayor said.
Based on the latest batch of genome sequencing results conducted by the Department of Health through the University of the Philippines-Philippine Genome Center and UP-National Institutes of Health, there are 116 additional Delta variant cases in the country with 95 categorized as local transmission.
“Due to the higher transmissibility of the Delta variant, we must take necessary steps to mitigate its impact in our community,” the mayor said.
As a preemptive measure, the city is ramping up its efforts to increase its health care capacity, and acquire vital medicines and other medical supplies.
“Through our concerted efforts, our city has always managed to quickly contain surges as they happen, and we will continue to soldier on through our timely initiatives whenever situations like this arise, but let us out rule out a worst-case scenario especially since there is high probability that the number of Delta cases will increase if we become complacent,” the mayor said. – Jessa Samidan
April 26, 2024
