Benguet, Baguio still seeing virus spike

HEALTH PROTOCOL In this photo taken on June 17, a truck of Philex Mining Corp. is seen at the tailings dam of Padcal mine site in Itogon town, Benguet province, as the company continues operation amid relaxed restrictions. Despite strict health protocols imposed by the company, some workers have tested positive for COVID-19 following a mass testing done on 200 employees. —EV ESPIRITU

BAGUIO CITY, Benguet, Philippines — The mining town of Itogon in Benguet province recorded 149 new cases of the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on Sunday, its highest single-day record since the pandemic struck in March.

The patients were residents of Barangay Ampucao and Poblacion. The infections, according to Mayor Victorio Palangdan, were detected after a mass testing conducted by the local government.

Itogon’s latest cases broke the province’s single-day record of 93 on Oct. 22, with 74 of them traced to bunkhouses in the mining town.

Palangdan said he would ask the Department of the Interior and Local Government for more contact tracers.

As of Sunday, Itogon recorded 402 COVID-19 cases and four fatalities. It also topped the list of high-risk areas outside Metro Manila from Oct. 11 to Oct. 24, according to a research team that monitors COVID-19 cases.

In Bokod town, also in Benguet, local officials recorded its first death related to COVID-19 on Saturday. The 60-year-old resident died on Oct. 28 after suffering from other ailments.

Baguio cases surge

The number of COVID-19 cases in Baguio City also surged, reaching 2,147 as of Sunday. They included 93 new infections in the last two days, prompting the local government to set up more isolation facilities.

Two hotels were converted into temporary isolation centers to augment the quarantine units at Sto. Niño Hospital and Teachers’ Camp.

Among the latest patients were 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 on Thursday, raising Baguio’s number of fatalities to 27 since March.

Fifteen new cases were detected through mass testing from Oct. 27 to Oct. 30 that was initiated by the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) for vulnerable sectors in Baguio and in five Benguet towns.

The BCDA project benefited Tuba town and Itogon in Benguet, which have been dealing with outbreaks that were traced to heavily populated mining communities there.

WORK SITE HOUSING Mine workers of Philex Mining Corp. stay in bunkhouses (building in foreground) in Tuba, Benguet province. Recently, clusters of coronavirus infections were traced to mining communities in Tuba and Itogon towns following a mass testing. —EV ESPIRITU

The mass tests coincided with the release of new rules that would now allow visitors of all ages from all provinces in Luzon to enter Baguio, provided they passed screening.

Baguio remains in the list of high-risk COVID-19 areas, ranking fourth among those outside Metro Manila. On top of the list was Itogon, followed by Ilagan and Iloilo cities.

Triple

In Negros Oriental province, COVID-19 infections tripled in just 11 days, with the number of cases reaching 100 on Oct. 30, from just 31 on Oct. 19.

Dr. Liland Estacion, provincial interagency task force ground commander, attributed most of the cases to local transmission.

Negros Oriental posted the highest number of infections in Central Visayas, according to an Oct. 29 report of the regional office of the Department of Health.

Bayawan City in southern Negros Oriental logged the highest number of new cases with 21, involving mostly local government employees and contact tracers who got infected after exposure to COVID-19 patients.

Eight health workers at a public hospital in Guihulngan City also tested positive. Estacion said most of the new cases were recorded after mass testing in several areas last week.

As of Oct. 30, Negros Oriental had 308 COVID-19 cases, with 202 recoveries and six deaths.

—Reports from Kimberlie Quitasol, Vincent Cabreza and Raffy Cabristante