Mayor Benjamin Magalong again reminded residents here not to hold gatherings and parties this Christmas Season to prevent a surge in coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases, especially with the threat of the Omicron variant.
“I am hoping that Omicron will not hit us this Christmas but looking at the latest developments, there is a big possibility. I don’t like to spoil our Christmas but I hope we will be spared,” the mayor told the media on Tuesday.
He said like the Delta variant, it is possible that Omicron would also enter Baguio City.
Magalong said while everybody enjoys the Yuletide Season, there should be continuous observance of the safety protocols to avoid problems after having fun.
The mayor, however, expressed confidence that the city can deal with the Omicron the way it did the Delta variant.
“I hope will be able to suppress this but we can be confident that we will be able to handle it with the positive developments on our front, the readiness of our control systems, and the lessons and experience that we had with the Delta variant,” Magalong said.
He said Omicron, the fifth variant of concern, appears to be three times more transmissible than Delta in the affected countries, although there are indications that the cases are not severe.
“We will be watching the developments on Omicron to guide us in our action plan. The next two weeks will be critical in ascertaining its features,” he said.
Meanwhile, Aileen Refuerzo, Public Information Office chief, said “as cases dipped, the city weathering the Delta scourge and with the eased up quarantine protocols, the city reopened its badly hit tourism industry and geared up for a better Christmas”.
She said while the city has prepared a low-key Christmas celebration, the local government will cancel the activities when the situation calls for it.
“The city’s action plan will be dynamic. Our protocols are a little lax since we are on Alert Level 2 but if the Omicron risk gets higher, then expect us to again step up our restrictions,” Refuerzo said.
On Monday, a Health Services Office-Baguio report showed that the city has 65 active Covid-19 cases with the addition of five logged on the same day.
There was a total of 29,199 who recovered and 714 who died since the virus was detected in the country in March 2020.
Source: Philippines News Agency