BAGUIO CITY – Mayor Benjamin Magalong on Monday announced that the city has been placed under community quarantine to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
BAGUIO LANDMARK The more than 100-year-old Kennon Road, stretching 32 kilometers through Benguet’s mountains, is the shortest and most scenic route to Baguio City from La Union province.
A lion head, carved out of a boulder along the zigzag road, is one of the most famous landmarks of Baguio. —NEIL CLARK ONGCHANGCO/CONTRIBUTOR
The declaration was issued as the number of persons under monitoring (PUMs) for COVID-19 in nearby provinces and towns continues to increase.
The city, however, remains to be free of the respiratory disease, according to local health officials.
The mayor said the quarantine, which would last until April 15, 2020, is not a “lockdown” as the movement of people would not be totally restricted.
He said mechanisms would be put in place to “tighten preventive, control and response measures.”
The city would also require health declaration forms for contact tracing.
On Sunday, the nearby province of La Union (about 50 kilometers from Baguio City) had also imposed a community quarantine to stop the spread of the virus.