Baguio logged its single day biggest number of new cases with 510 Thursday practically double the projected 250 “at a worst case scenario” made by medical leaders and statisticians prior the start of this week.
The number broke the 411 set on September 18 last year during the height of the Delta variant driven surge even as mayor Benjamin Magalong said the peak will reach 500 per day with the Omicron driven surge.
Total new cases since the start of the new year now stands at 2,302 or a daily average of 177 cases
Of this number 123 are asymptomatic, 390 are mild and three are moderate and again no severe or critical cases.
The city also logged its biggest recovery with 159, the biggest this year and since November 19 bringing the total recovery this year to 261, a mere 20 recovery a day.
From the four in December 26, the number of active cases now stand at 2,082, the highest since October 14.
Magalong also Thursday said that active case may peak at 9,000 to 10,000, twice the 4,686 logged on October 4, before a downtrend is realized.
The said part is that the city has 722 beds available in in its isolation and quarantine facilities.
While there is no confirmed Omicron case yet, Magalong said that it is already here.
“All indications point to the fact that Omicron is already here,” Magalong said on a taped statement aired over the Public Information Office – Baguio Facebook wall earlier as the city has already been placed under alert level 3 since Sunday.
As such, the city allows home isolation for asymptomatic and mild patients, while those with severe cases will be admitted in hospitals and temporary treatment and monitoring facilities.
Meanwhile, Magalong assured Baguio residents that contingency measures have been set up to address the surge in cases saying “We can manage.”
He again asked residents to observe the minimum health protocol including wearing of facemasks, observing social distancing and avoiding crowded places.
Magalong further advised the public to avoid social gatherings to avoid transmissions.
“This is a big challenge, let us not take this lightly. If possible avoid staging social gatherings and appealed to all barangays to postpone all thanksgiving activities” to stem the spread of the virus, said Magalong in another video aired on Facebook live.
He said that with the cooperation of residents, the surge will be ended by mid-February.
He added: “If we cooperate and collaborate, we will be able to deal with this variant.”
The city have five deaths this month bringing the total fatalities since the start of the pandemic to 725.
Today, three Cordillera provinces will join Baguio under alert level 3 on January 14. The Inter-Agency Task Force will place neighbor Benguet, Kalinga and Abra in the growing list of localities placed under said alert level until the end of the month.
Benguet logged 224 new cases Thursday, while Kalinga had 95 and Abra just a mere two.
