Another travel restriction will be implemented in Baguio and its five neighboring towns in an effort to stop the surge in coronavirus disease (Covid-19) and spread of its dreaded United Kingdom strain starting February 1 until 15.
The advisory preludes the impending imposition of a general community quarantine in the region by the Inter-agency Task Force for the same period noting the high risk situation of the region with Covid-19 cases on the rise.
In a joint advisory Tuesday, January 26, mayor Benjamin Magalong signed with his counterparts from the member towns of the Baguio La Trinidad Itogon Sablan Tuba and Tublay the advisory restricting travel among the member local government units.
The advisory also signed by mayors Romeo Salda of La Trinidad, Clarita Sal-ongan of Tuba, Victorio Palangdan of Itogon, Manuel Munar Jr. of Sablan and Armando Lauro of Tublay was in response to the Department of Health – Cordillera’s confirmation of the presence of the new strain of Covid-19. The UK strain was detected from one of the 17 confirmed cases from la Trinidad and the DoH – Cordillera fear that said person may have first, second and third generation contacts who had recently travelled to Baguio.
The advisory noted: “The fact that these contacts are mobile and freely moving within the BLISTT, presents a challenge to our contact tracing teams who are running against time to break the chain of transmission.”
The advisory took also note that the town of La Trinidad has imposed an 8PM curfew to stop transmission of the virus that may find its way to the other LGUs since BLISTT is intertwined.
In signing the advisory, the five other mayors said: “We stand side by side with Mayor Salda, and we support his initiative to implement restrictions in the Municipality.”
The advisory says that inter-BLISTT travelers for purposes of work, or to avail of essential goods and services, shall present Medical Certificates/Medical Clearance issued by any licensed physician.
The clearance must state the resident has not exhibited flu-like symptoms as of the time of assessment and will be valid for 10 days.
It added that residents who need to enter Baguio for medical appointment or consultation need only show proof of their confirmed appointments, while those with immediate medical emergencies shall be allowed to pass through freely. Likewise, cargo and logistics services, and utilities for water, electricity, telecommunications, IT, and waste management shall likewise be given unhampered passage, provided, their personnel maintain a no-contact policy and shall strictly observe minimum public health standards at all times.
For non-resident travelers coming to BLISTT from other regions, provinces, cities and municipalities must present their Travel Authority/Permit and Medical Certificate issued in their place of origin. For those coming to Baguio, the process provided in https://hdf.baguio.gov.ph/ for non-tourists and https://visita.baguio.gov.ph/ for tourists shall apply.
Baguio on Monday recorded it’s single day high of 85 new Covid cases.
In Tabuk, a 14-day enhanced community quarantine has been declared while GCQ or modified GCQ had been effected in the other municipalities.
