BY ADRIAN P. NEMES III
What transpired in Cebu province where the coronavirus mutated is likely to happen in Bacolod City if mass gatherings are not stopped.
This was stressed by Dr. Chris Sorongon, deputy for medical and data analysis of the Emergency Operations Center yesterday, adding that the virus can easily adopt to its environment and trigger mutation.
Health authorities recently confirmed two new mutated variants of Covid-19 in Cebu which is among the 12,760 recorded mutations worldwide, Sorongon said.
Despite the discovery of the new variants in Cebu, there is no need to seek moratorium on the entrance of locally stranded individuals from that province, he said.
Sorongon also said that all LSIs coming from Cebu and elsewhere are required to have a reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction test taken 72 hours before and showing they are Covid-free upon their arrival.
Meanwhile, there are now 8,534 establishments and 451,183 individuals enrolled in the city’s BaCTrac system, as of Feb. 22.
But Sorongon said they do not have any data yet as to how many of those who have BaCTracs are actually using it because the main server of the app is from Cotabato.
The provincial Capitol of Cotabato was recently locked down and most of the workers there now are in isolation because of the spread of Covid.
Sorongon said the newly-hired contact tracers of the Department of Interior and Local Government continue to monitor the BaCTrac activities of different establishments in the city.
By March 1, the use of the BaCTrac system will be mandatory but those who do not have it yet will still be allowed to enter the establishments, Sorongon said.
They will be asked to write their information in the logbook, and when they visit the establishment again, that’s the only time they will be required to use the BaCTrac, he said.
Bacolod’s real time active Covid cases is only 23, as of yesterday.*
