Benguet seeks suspension of mass testing

MANILA, Philippines — Saying they should be given time to prepare more isolation facilities, Benguet Gov. Melchor Diclas has appealed to the National Task Force Against COVID-19 to suspend mass testing in the province.

Diclas said the undertaking would be useless if those found infected could not be accommodated in treatment or isolation facilities.

He said the local government was forced to allow 21 new patients to be quarantined at their homes.

Itogon, which recorded the highest number of cases during mass testing, was allowed to send its patients to treatment and isolation facilities in Baguio City.

At least 176 new cases were recorded in Tuba, Kapangan, La Trinidad, Tublay and Itogon towns.

More than 5,000 residents of Baguio City and Benguet were swabbed during expanded testing from Oct. 27 to 30.

Border control

In Ormoc, Mayor Richard Gomez said there would be no easing of border control in the city to allow access of people, including authorized persons outside residence.

Gomez expressed dismay over the order of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases or IATF to relax border control, saying it resulted in a spike in confirmed cases in the city recently.

He said eight employees at the Ormoc District Hospital are among the new cases.

Gomez said Ormocanons are still required to bring their quarantine pass when they go out of their homes.

Meanwhile, in Bacolod City, 28 of the 61 barangays were declared COVID-free in the past two weeks.

Emergency Operations Center Task Force executive director Em Ang said this means 45.9 percent of barangays recorded no new or active case.

Latest data showed that only 84 of 576 beds in two isolation facilities in the city were occupied. – Raymund Catindig, Gilbert Bayoran, Miriam Desacada