LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – The municipal government temporarily suspended the implementation of the no swab, no entry policy being enforced in the vegetable trading post until such time that all the individuals transacting business in the said facility shall have been tested.
Mayor Romeo K. Salda said that the municipal government already requested the State-owned Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) for additional 2,000 reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test kits to ensure that people transacting businesses inside the vegetable trading facility will be tested prior to the implementation of the no swab, no entry measure.
Earlier, Mayor Salda issued an order for the strict imposition of the no swab, no entry policy for people transacting business in the facility to prevent the further spread of the dreaded Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) after several porters and disposers tested positive during the initial wave of the free mass testing conducted in the municipality.
He pointed out that the municipal government was forced to suspend the implementation of the no swab, no entry policy for those entering the vegetable trading post because only half of the over 3,000 individuals that enter the facility daily have been tested with the rest not yet tested.
Of the 800 that availed of the latest wave of mass testing in the municipality through the BCDA, some 45 individuals tested positive of the deadly virus that compelled the municipal government to subject them to undergo the required quarantine and isolation.
The mayor emphasized that the municipal government must first ensure that all those entering the vegetable trading post have already been tested to avoid confusion once the no swab, no entry policy will be strictly enforced as efforts are being undertaken to coordinate with the BCDA for the conduct of another wave of mass testing to ensure that people entering the trading facility will be free from the virus to prevent further transmission of the virus inside and outside the convergence area.
The municipal mayor disclosed the municipal government lacks the funds to ensure that most sectors will be tested thus efforts are being done to reach out to individuals and companies to help in the implementation of mass testing among the vulnerable sectors of the municipality to ensure asymptomatic patients will be subjected to isolation while the symptomatic patients could be admitted in the different health facilities or isolation centers.
For several times, the municipal government locked down the vegetable trading post for the conduct of the required disinfection after some of the porters, packers and disposers tested positive of the deadly virus.
Salda urged the residents to continue adhering to the basic health protocols, such as the mandatory wearing of face masks and shields, the observance of physical distancing and the practice of personal hygiene, which will help in sparing them from contracting the virus and its spread in the community to help slowdown the surge in cases in the municipality. By HENT
