Baguio COVID-19 cases breach 2,000 mark

BAGUIO CITY –– Aggressive testing and contact tracing have accelerated the rate of Baguio’s coronavirus disease (COVID-19) infections, with numbers speeding past the 2,000 mark as of Thursday, Oct. 29.

The City Health Services Office recorded 59 new patients, raising the total number of cases isolated and treated by hospitals at 2,054, according to the city information office.

Two hotels serve as temporary isolation facilities to augment the primary quarantine units at the Sto. Niño Hospital and Teachers Camp.

Among the latest patients are a 2-year-old girl, a 5-year-old boy, and an 83-year-old woman. A 56-year-old man died from the disease, raising Baguio’s fatalities to 27 since the new coronavirus struck.

Fifteen of the new cases were detected through a mass testing program on Oct. 27 to 30 sponsored by the Bases Conversion and Development Authority for vulnerable sectors of the summer capital and five Benguet towns.

The BCDA project benefited Tuba and Itogon, which have been dealing with outbreaks that broke out in heavily populated mining communities last week.

The mass tests coincided with the release of new rules that now allow tourists from all provinces in Luzon to enter Baguio. The City Tourism Office allows visitors to visit the city provided they pass the screening.

LZB