Baguio City COVID-19 watch: 14 more residents test positive

BAGUIO CITY — Fourteen residents tested positive for the coronavirus disease 2019  (COVID-19) on Saturday, July 25, 2020, the largest number to be recorded in a single day in the summer capital.

Mall security personnel in Baguio City check the body temperature of  customers in the file photo taken last March, when the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)pandemic broke out. PHOTO by Vincent Cabreza

The new patients raised the number of active COVID-19 patients to 32, with 18 currently receiving treatment.

The spike triggered mild controversy when the identities of 12 patients were circulated on social media, prompting the Baguio City government to appeal for compassion, and a warning that sharing the sensitive information without consent is a criminal act.

The new patients were tested in various barangays or were examined as part of mandatory testing of sectors considered to be at risk during the pandemic, said Mayor Benjamin Magalong in a statement.

In a July 25 advisory, the Department of Health – Cordillera observed that the rising infections throughout the region occurred with the easing of travel restrictions and the return of migrant workers and residents stranded outside the upland provinces during the initial lockdown.

Twelve stranded residents and 13 returning overseas Filipino workers are among the 78 active COVID-19 patients in the Cordillera.

Stressing that the health care system will be able to manage the increased rate of contamination, Dr. Amelita Pangilinan, DOH Cordillera director, said people should not panic but must brace for more cases.

She said projections as early as April anticipated peak transmissions by July .

“And this is what we are practically seeing right now,” she said.

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