The city government will be transitioning the closure of item city’s central triage facility as part of the ongoing easing up of the existing restrictions to help in the gradual and safe revival of the heavily impacted economy due to the prevalence of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
City Administrator Bonifacio dela Peña stated that instead of totally stopping the operation of the central triage facility, some health personnel will be left to man at least one of the established triage units within the compound of the Baguio Convention Center for the testing needs of walk-in clients and travelers.
He added that due to the significant decrease in the number of COVID-19 cases in the city over the past several weeks, it will be prudent for the city to at least regulate the operation of its central triage facility to help save on costs, among other austerity measures.
The city administrator said that health workers will continue to closely monitor the confirmed COVID-19 patients and their close contacts to ascertain the magnitude of their infection and the transmission of the virus to guide them in deciding how to regulate the operation of the city’s central triage facility.
Earlier, the city government established the 24-hour operation of the central triage facility for the triaging requirements of travelers and returning residents before being allowed to enter the city.
For her part, Dr. Rowena Galpo stipulated that based on their recent observation, there are an increasing number of walk-in clients in the central triage facility needing the required tests for their travels to their destinations.
Some local governments in the different parts of the country are still requiring travelers to present their negative antigen or reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test results taken prior to their entry to the said areas as part of entry protocols.
Galpo claimed that the vaccination of still unvaccinated individuals in the city will now be done at the SM Sunset Terraces and in the different district health centers in the city to ensure that people are vaccinated with the available vaccines for them to have added protection against the deadly virus.
She assured the city has sufficient vaccines for the qualified adult and pediatric population in the different vaccination sites and district health centers.
The city health officer called on the public to sustain their compliance to the minimum public health standards as the deadly virus remains a threat as the pandemic is not yet over because of the emergence of the variants of concern. (Dexter A. See)