GUARDIA. Baguio’s police force have been at the frontline in the battle against the pandemic ever since the city started closing its borders in February. PHOTO BY VINCENT CABREZA
BAGUIO CITY — More police trainees tested positive for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) raising the number of stricken Baguio cops to 124 as of Saturday, according to the city information office.
They are part of a 437-contingent who were undergoing their mandatory field training program here when Luzon closed all borders.
Put to work, they have been part of the Baguio frontlines for the last six months, manning border and barangay (village) checkpoints.
Around 32 more trainees were confirmed to have contracted the disease, adding to the 92 trainees who tested positive for COVID-19 before the end of September.
They have been isolated by the Baguio City Police Office.
The BCPO has yet to determine how a large number of trainees were contaminated. They all reside in a building that serves as their dormitory, which is a few blocks away from the Lourdes Grotto.
The infection has thinned down police manpower for the moment, said Police Col. Allen Rae Co during a Sept. 30 briefing.
But he stressed that putting many of them under quarantine will not have any adverse impact on security and the arrival of Ilocos visitors now that Baguio has reopened its borders to tourists.
The police trainees make up one of two outbreaks that struck the city last month, days before the ceremonial launch of the Ridge and Reef Travel Corridor. This initiative allows residents of Baguio and four provinces in the Ilocos region exclusive access to the beaches and other leisure spots within their territories.
The city’s total number of infections since the pandemic struck has breached the thousand mark, with 1,108 as of Saturday.
The city also recorded two fatalities — a 33-year-old woman, who had other ailments, and a 68-year-old woman. They raised the number of COVID-19 deaths to 16. VINCENT CABREZA