Magalong to prioritize COVID-19 testing of grocery, supermarket workers
BAGUIO CITY -- Mayor Benjamin Magalong will prioritize the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) testing of some 5,000 grocery and supermarket workers in the coming weeks.
Magalong promised to help owners of grocery stores and supermarkets under the Baguio-Benguet Entrepreneurs and Traders Association to avail of low-cost tests to enable its members to comply with his order to pay for the COVID-19 tests of all their workers.
During a recent consultation meeting, the association agreed to pursue mandatory testing of all grocery workers and set lockdown procedures in case of COVID-19 infection.
The association members admitted they are hard up in complying with the 100 percent swab testing requirement due to the high cost of the Reverse Transcriptase-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) tests.
Magalong said he will work out an arrangement for the association to avail of low priced test kits as soon as possible.
The parties also agreed on lockdown guidelines covering the terms of contact tracing, closure, personnel redeployment and their inclusion in barangay lockdown orders, among others.
Magalong said that with the aggressive testing, the city expects to have a clearer picture of the extent of the medical emergency.
He said Baguio is one of the few local government units that has been able to test a big number of people. City data shows, recent cases are mostly local transmissions.
“This time, we are going to administer an antigen, a new testing technology that is able to yield accurate results within 15 minutes,” Magalong said.
The city is preparing at least 300 beds at the Teachers Camp and Sto. Niño isolation centers.