MANKAYAN, Benguet – Residents in the town’s twelve barangays were reminded by municipal officials and health authorities to be calm and sober following the sudden surge in the number of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in some parts of the municipality as the situation is manageable and that concerned government agencies and the municipal government is greatly in control of the situation.
Mayor Frenzel A. Ayong claimed the municipal government continues to get overwhelming support from the Office of Civil Defense (OCD), the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the Department of Health (DOH), the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), the provincial government, the Office of Benguet Caretaker Congressman and Anti-Crime and Terrorism through Community Involvement and Support (ACT-CIS) Party-list Rep. Eric Go Yap, the State-run Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) and the private sector, to effectively and efficient respond to the community transmission of the virus in limited areas of the locality, thus, there is no reason for the residents to be alarmed over the continued increase of COVID cases in the Lepanto mine camp and is neighbouring communities.
“What is important for our constituents is for them to sustain their adherence to the prevailing health and safety protocols to avoid situations that will allow them to be exposed to the elements and eventually contract the deadly virus. We saw the concern of our people on the possible impact of the surge in cases, but our preparedness prevented what could be the worst case scenario if we were not proactive,” Mayor Ayong stressed.
During the first few months of the pandemic, Mankayan was one of the few towns in the province with no report of any single COVID case, but the municipal mayor still made sure that the testing, tracing and isolation systems were in place in preparation for the possible worst case scenario.
Last Sunday, Mankayan recorded the highest single-day COVID cases with 85 after Thursday’s 69 cases that mostly came from the Lepanto mine camp and its neighboring communities.
Prior to the surge in COVID cases in the municipality, the municipal inter-agency task force chaired by Mayor Ayong already put up some 4 isolation units for the cases that may be uncovered from the enhanced contact tracing, and the decision of the Lepanto management to expanded testing among its thousands of mine workers on a staggered basis.
Among the isolation units in the municipality with a total bed capacity of over 250 include the Lepanto National High School, Lepanto Elementary School, Marivic Elementary School and the town’s Casubigan isolation center.
Ayong expressed his gratitude to the health workers, barangay officials and volunteers, aside from the officials and employees of the municipal government and other government agencies, for rising up to the occasion in rendering services to help appropriately address the issues and concerns that placed the situation in the municipality under control to prevent unnecessary panic among the people. By HENT
