ISOLATION facility for coronavirus disease (Covid-19) patients should be in place before Benguet Province’s 13 towns open their doors to tourists.
Benguet Governor Melchor Diclas said this is an added preparation for the province that once it opens its tourism-related activities and there are Covid-19 confirmed cases, they will be able to accommodate them through the isolation facility.
Diclas pointed out the province is avoiding the local transmission of the Covid-19 to those who are immunocompromised persons and those with weak immune system.
“Ideally, we need isolation facilities in every municipality. Once we tested visitors and they tested positive of Covid-19, we can immediately isolate them,” he said.
Diclas added not all 13 towns have their own isolation facilities but they remain bullish that all municipalities will be able to establish before the end of 2020.
As of September 14, there are 179 total recoveries, 223 confirmed cases and 43 active cases in the province.
Diclas, a medical doctor by profession, said most of the positive cases in the province involve asymptomatic patients.
Because of the increase in the number of Covid-19 cases in the province, the Provincial Government is fast-tracking to operate more facilities for Covid-19 patients with the opening of the temporary treatment and monitoring facility 3 at Benguet State University’s new dormitory that has a 24-bed capacity and caters to asymptomatic patients.
Diclas said they are just waiting for the full operation of the Benguet General Hospital (BeGH) Molecular Biology Laboratory next month, which will boost the Covid-19 testing capacity of Benguet especially once the province opens its doors for tourism activities.
Construction of the building for the molecular lab, through the personal initiative and funding of Benguet Caretaker Eric Go Yap, was recently completed.
Diclas said the machines and equipment for the laboratory are still undergoing procurement.
Before the talks of Baguio tourism opening, Benguet Association of Tourism Officers president and La Trinidad Municipal Tourism officer Valred Olsim said the different tourism officers in the province conducted an assessment on the capability of local government units in responding in cases where there will visitors in the town.
Tourism officers in the province inquired Benguet officers, local Inter-Agency Task Force and stakeholders and said they are not yet ready to open tourism because of various reasons, mainly due to the community’s response and fear to open tourism sites during the quarantine period; second is the challenges in monitoring safety protocols; and third, the available infrastructure in Benguet.
Unlike Baguio City, Oslim said the province does not have ample accommodation facilities.
Olsim added that funding of local government units are diverted to the Covid-19 response.
In Benguet’s capital town alone, he said the tourism fund of P2 million was diverted to the food of the persons in quarantine.
“All in all, we are not yet ready. There will be a time we can be ready, but for now we are not yet ready, most of our funding, resources are still on the Covid-19 response,” Olsim said.
In La Trinidad, the town is crafting its tourism development plan that concentrates on the sustainability and recovery.
The tourism plan for 2021 to 2025 was crafted four months ago, but with the difficulties in meeting with stakeholders because of the Covid-19 pandemic, it was further conducted by batch.
The plan includes development of tourism spots, improve and consider the safety and secure tourism, not only on health protocols related to Covid-19 but the security of the tourism area.
Discussion about this post