TABUK CITY, Kalinga – The City’s active COVID-19 cases reached 524 today as 53 new infections were recorded, bringing the total cumulative cases to 4,235. There were also 11 COVID-19-related deaths added today, bringing the total death toll to 109 since the pandemic began.
Of the 524 active cases, 175 are admitted in various government and private hospitals, 137 are isolated at the Temporary Treatment and Monitoring Facility (TTMF) in Agbannawag, and 212 are on home quarantine.
Barangay Bulanao remains the barangay with the most number of cases at 115, followed by Dagupan Centro, 48; Bulanao Norte, 46 ; Dagupan Weste, 36; Magsaysay, 30; Casigayan, 27; San Juan, 19; Nambaran, 17; Bulo, 16; Laya West, 16, Agbannawag, 15; and Laya East, 15.
City Health Officer Dr. Henrietta Bagayao once again urged Tabukeños to follow health protocols to protect themselves against the virus, especially that the presence of the more contagious Delta variant has already been confirmed in Tabuk.
Dr. Bagayao also appealed to those on home quarantine, which include asymptomatic patients and close contacts waiting for their test results, to strictly follow home quarantine guidelines to avoid infecting family members.
Dr. Bagayao lamented that there are many instances that persons on home quarantine have been observed to be going out of their houses, a situation that undermines the contact tracing efforts of health workers as well as strains the city’s testing capacity. “Kasi it’s useless, we are just expending our resources. Naka-home quarantine da, na-swab ti close contacts da, pag lumabas ‘yung resulta, positive. The cycle goes on and on,” she said.
To address the problem, the City Health Office (CHO) is now fast-tracking the requirements to use public school classrooms as barangay isolation units (BIUs). It would be recalled that Mayor Darwin Estrañero last week directed barangay officials to re-activate their BIUs to augment the city’s isolation facilities. By Iryll Sicnao
