Tuguegarao City is now CagVal's COVID-19 epicenter
TUGUEGARAO CITY, Cagayan, April 8 (PIA) - - This city has become the newest coronavirus epicenter in the entire Cagayan Valley region after it recorded 724 active cases as of yesterday.
Dr. James Guzman, city health officer, said the significant increase of COVID-19 positive cases since last month prompted the city government to place the entire city under Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) status for 10 days. However, with cases continue to increase, the ECQ status was extended until April 12, 2021, an additional 4 days.
Since last year, the city has already recorded 2, 572 confirmed cases with 28 deaths according to Guzman.
To cater to COVID-19 patients, the city has five isolation facilities to include a 32-bed container van facility, an 18-room dormitory type facility, the Peoples General Hospital, 36 rooms at the old Schools Division Office, and another 50 rooms at the Cagayan National High School's senior high building.
"Our isolation facilities are already full. We have several community transmission cases in which majority of these are our frontliners and those working in the government institutions," Guzman said.
The city health officer also said that one of the reasons of fast transmission in the workplaces is the Filipino custom of dining together.
"They eat together. Of course they remove their masks so transmission is very fast. So we urge employees to refrain from dining together at this time, especially during lunch time and snack time," Guzman said.
He also said regular disinfection in the workplaces and even at home should already be part of the daily routine and habit of everyone to lessen the transmission of virus.
The city health officer also reminded individuals who have travel histories to undergo mandatory quarantine before they will go out or attend any gathering.
"We also request those who submit themselves for contact tracing [to be honest during interview]. Please be honest to tell us the circumstances surrounding[sic] your travels and your activities to determine the level of transmission that we need to assess," Guzman added.
Guzman added that individuals exposed to any positive patient should be responsible by following the protocols set forth by the city health office such as observance of immediate self-isolation and calling them for assessment. (MDCT/OTB/PIA 2-Cagayan)
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