ITOGON, Benguet – The management of three mining companies reported the speedy recovery of their Coronavirus Disease cases because of the implementation of the necessary strategies of testing, tracing and isolation that prevented continuous surge in the number of cases that could have compromised the operation of the export-related industries.
The Philex Mining Corporation (PMC) reported that all its positive Covid-19 cases housed in its Company-maintained and established isolation and recovery facilities inside its Padcal Mine in this town recovered as of Thursday, November 19, 2020, except for one who is still in the Benguet General Hospital (BeGH) and is expected to be out anytime next week. This followed the series of recoveries from the company’s established isolation facilities over the past several days.
Philex legal and administrative division head lawyer Eduardo M. Aratas, also the over-all in-charge of its Covid-19 Response Team of the company said that of the 320 confirmed COVID cases of the mine site, 319 patients who were mostly asymptomatic, were able to recover while 1 is expected to be fully recovered on November 27, 2020 from the BeGH. Of the 320 cases, 177 are company employees, 118 are non-employees but residents of the communities within the mine site while 25 are employees of contractors working in the mine.
Todate, there are no more active cases among the employees, non-employees and residents inside the mine camp.
The Philex official stated that all the 25 cases among employees of contractors were able to recover that contributed in the speedy reduction of the number of patients that were accommodated in the company’s isolation units.
In terms of available isolation beds, he claimed that there are already 245 beds that are available for future use.
Among the existing isolation units in the mine site include the 224-bed Philex Elementary School, the 20-bed Smith hall, the 10-bed Philex hospital, and another 18-bed isolation annex at its mine hospital that is almost done in its construction.
It can be recalled that the Company had its sudden spike of COVID-19 cases among the mining areas of Benguet, particularly Itogon and Tuba but with the decisive and determined quick reaction of its Philex Mining management, it was able to arrest the further spread of the virus among its employees and mine camp residents.
In a related development, Itogon-Suyoc Resources, Inc. management disclosed that there are only 2 active cases while there are some 150 recoveries that resulted to the lifting of the previous lockdown.
Moreover, ISRI claimed that it is willing to share to the local government, particularly the barangays and the municipal government, its available resources for the quarantine and isolation of future cases once there will be an urgent need for the same.
ISRI is a subsidiary of the Davao-based Apex Mining and is now operating the Sangilo mine in barangay Poblacion.
Earlier, ISRI was able to lend to the concerned barangays its isolation tents that were used for the quarantine and isolation needs of the residents that tested positive for the deadly virus.
For Benguet Corporation, the company reported that of the 371 cases that were recorded within its mine camp, only 51 are employees while 320 are residents of the communities where all its 51 workers were able to recover from the illness. By HENT