The lack of the new coronavirus disease cases in the city for the past five days does not mean that the fight against the disease has been over and that people can now afford to be complacent.
City Health Officer Rowena Galpo cautioned that the city may have not seen a new positive case in the last five days (the last being on March 28) but people must not let their guards down.
Instead, they should continue observing control measures to sustain having no positive Covid-19 case in the remaining 12 days of the enhanced community quarantine and beyond.
Mayor Benjamin Magalong, for his part, felt the city had to conduct follow-through tracing of contacts to make sure that no one was missed.
“There were gaps before that we are now addressing so we will not be surprised if more cases will turn up,” the mayor said.
City Epidemiologist Donnabel Tubera-Panes, however, was optimistic that the contamination had been contained and contacts rounded up at the moment.
Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center Medical Director Ricardo Ruñez Jr. said Baguio has no clustering of cases as yet.
Magalong said he saw an opportunity “to flatten the curve” when he observed that the city’s cases originated from other places prompting him to impose a lockdown and work out the enhancement of contract tracing and early detection.
The Cordillera has 18 confirmed Covid cases, 12 of them are from Baguio City, as of April 2. – Aileen P. Refuerzo
