BONTOC, Mountain Province – The provincial government disclosed that there is no Delta variant case in the province yet that is triggering the increase in the number of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases.
However, Gov. Bonifacio C. Lacwasan, Jr. stated that the province remains vigilant on the possible existence of the more infectious Delta variant in the locality through the conduct of aggressive contact tracing of existing linked cases to ascertain their contacts with confirmed COVID-19 cases in the province to date, aside from the enforcement of stricter border controls to prevent infected individuals from freely entering the province.
He pointed out that people in the different parts of the province are fully aware of their need to comply with the implementation of the minimum public health standards as measures to prevent them from contracting the virus that might cause the surge in cases in the province although the increase in the number of cases could be attributed to the returning locally stranded individuals and Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs).
The governor claimed that the increase in COVID-19 cases in the province is manageable at this time unlike in March and April where the daily increase in cases was by the hundreds apart from the fact that the province has sufficient temporary treatment and monitoring facilities to cater to the quarantine and isolation requirements of individuals who are required to undergo quarantine and isolation.
According to him the provincial government engaged a number of hotels in the province to serve as quarantine and isolation units when the established temporary and treatment and monitoring facilities will already be filled up because of the daily increase in cases although the situation is still within tolerable level and still under the control of concerned government agencies and the local task force.
Mountain Province remains to be the local government with the least number of COVID-19 cases in the Cordillera.
Last March, the first UK variant case in the region was reported in the province that contributed to the sudden surge in cases before the situation was placed under control through the combined efforts of the health department and the involved local governments.
Lacwasan urged residents in the province’s barangays to continue their adherence to the implementation of the basic health and safety protocols because it is still their best weapon against contracting the deadly virus.
Moreover, he also rallied people to have themselves vaccinated by the available vaccines that are being inoculated so that there will be a significant number of the population that will be vaccinated to help achieve the overall objective of the government by being able to reach the threshold for population protection and eventual herd immunity.
He advised people that the available vaccines can help protect them from severe infection and eventual death due to the deadly virus that is why it will be best for them to be vaccinated by whatever available vaccines that will be inoculated in their places as the vaccines being given to the province are properly being vaccinated to the members of the priority sectors. By HENT
