City prepared in case of another Covid-19 surge despite winding down operations

The city government has assured preparedness in the event of another surge in coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases despite winding down response operations in the past month.

Mayor Benjamin Magalong said they made sure that the prevent-detect- isolate- treat-reintegrate (PDITR) strategies are still in place even if some response operations had been scaled down in the past weeks after cases tapered off starting February.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned of another wave in the country next month after quarantine and travel protocols were eased up and social events mounted due to the upcoming national and local elections.

The mayor said they decided to keep operating the central triage units this month even if more accommodation establishments are being capacitated to undertake their own triaging.

Testing centers are also maintained as of now to continue case detection and deter transmission.

After cases dwindled, the city closed down most of the isolation units or temporary treatment and monitoring facilities (TTMF) but retained the main facility, the Baguio City Community Isolation Unit along with the required manpower and equipment.

“We are hopeful that the expected surge will not happen but just in case, we are confident that we can handle it as efficiently as we did during the delta and omicron variants,” the mayor said. – Aileen P. Refuerzo