Mine site in Benguet under lockdown due to rising COVID-19 cases

BAGUIO CITY—The Philex Padcal Mine Site in Tuba and Itogon in Benguet is under lockdown from 1 a.m. of Sept. 11 to Sept. 25 to address the rising cases of COVID-19 in the mine site and other neighboring areas.

Itogon Mayor Victorio Palangdan said placing the mine site under a lockdown would give way to the contact-tracing efforts. He said this is to determine the people who have been in close contacts with the 58 individuals infected with the virus recently inside the mine site.

The mayor said the measure is part of the Prevent-Isolate-Detect-Treat and Reintegrate (PIDTR) program.

Meanwhile, all of the people who were inside the mine camp will be under strict home quarantine. The movement will be limited only to the mine employees reporting to work and those who need to go out to buy essentials and for emergencies.

There will also be a strict implementation of “no exit and no entry policy” for the entire period of the lockdown even for individuals with vaccine pass or cards intending to enter and leave the mine camp.

Company employees returning from an approved leave will be allowed to enter the mine camp provided they will present RT-PCR (reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction) or antigen test results stating that they are COVID-19 negative.

The Benguet Provincial Health Office (PHO) reported that 132 new cases of COVID-19 were added on Sept. 9, bringing the total active cases in the province to 1,027 since the pandemic started in March last year.

Meanwhile, 93 patients were also reported to have recovered from the disease, while two died.

Benguet was placed under general community quarantine on Sept. 8.

RA