LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – This town is targeting 4,500 residents for mass testing tentatively set on Dec. 16 and 17.
Mayor Frenzel Ayong said the local government is closely coordinating with representatives of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) for the conduct of mass testing in the mine camp and the different barangays, following the recent surge of Covid-19 cases in the town.
The request for mass testing was facilitated by the Regional Task Force on Covid-19 through Civil Defense-Cordillera Director Albert Mogol in coordination with the National Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (NTF-EID).
With the increase of cases in the municipality in the past weeks particularly at the mine camp and the adjoining barangays of Poblacion, Tabio, Cabiten, and Colalo, the LGU already conducted Covid-19 testing through the contact tracing of cases while the Lepanto Consolidated Mining Company also conducted its expanded testing for its more than 1,000 employees.
As of Dec. 9, Mankayan recorded 405 confirmed cases with 342 active cases, 62 recoveries, and one death.
Last month, the NTF-EID held an aggressive community testing in coordination with the local government units of Baguio City and Benguet, through the BCDA and John Hay Management Corporation, to 5,000 individuals in Baguio City, La Trinidad, Itogon, and Tuba following the increasing number of cases in these LGUs. – Redjie M. Cawis
