THE CITY is ready in case of a possible surge in coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases due to the highly contagious Omicron variant.
“We are ready, all resources are in place kasi bago pa ito umakyat, dumating, eh ready na tayo sa lahat ng resources (before it even goes up, it reaches us, we are ready with all our resources),” said city administrator, Engr. Bonifacio dela Peña, in a media interview on Tuesday.
He said contingency measures have been put in place.
“Hindi tayo nababahala kasi manageable naman ang cases (we are not worried because the cases are manageable),” he said. “We are ready but we cannot tell if 100 but preparations were done and in place.”
The Department of Health-Cordillera Covid-19 tracker shows that the city has 98 active cases with the addition of 29 new cases on January 3.
On December 25, there were only eight active cases here.
Dela Peña recalled that when the Delta variant entered the city, they recorded as high as over 200 cases in a single day, with the total active cases reaching more than 4,500. But he said the local government was able to handle the contagion, so he is confident that they are ready for the Omicron variant.
He said that with cases dropping in December, the city government closed some of its isolation areas and made some more adjustments, repairs, and renovations to make these available in case another surge happens as a result of the Omicron variant.
Among the preparations done was the procurement of medicines, oxygen tanks, and other logistics needed, he noted.
Dela Peña also said the city government continues to do Covid-19 testing, averaging 400 in a day.
“Napakaganda ng positivity rate natin compared sa nagagawa na testing (the positivity rate is good compared to the testing being conducted),” he said.
The city administrator said while cases are increasing, there is no official declaration or report from the Department of Health on the presence of the Omicron variant here.
He said the local government will continue with its economic recovery efforts and will not close the city to tourists.
“We will be proactive about this because we don’t want to sacrifice yung nasimulan na natin na (the recovery that we have started) recovery,” he said.
The official reminded the public to continue observing the safety protocols, saying the increase in cases will impact everybody, not just those who are tested positive for the virus. (Liza Agoot)
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