Sustained Expanded Testing, Among Baguio City Measures that Keep Cases Under Control

The control measures of the City of Baguio against the Coronavirus Disease 2019 are succeeding so far! This good news has been recently revealed by a statistician from the University of the Philippines Baguio (UPB).

Last September 11, 2020, Prof. Rizavel Addawe of the UPB Department of Mathematics and Computer Science has told the Baguio City Inter-Agency Task Force that the well-placed measures had been instrumental in preventing cases from rising at an exponential rate. These measures include the city’s sustained expanded testing.

The UPB COVID-19 study in April has projected the city’s cases to hit 35 cases a day or a total of 2,258 by September 10, 2020. This is if no interventions are done. But in actuality, since control measures were put in place, as of September 10, the city has recorded a total of 415 cases, avoiding about 1,843 prospective cases.

At present, the city’s case growth rate is about twenty percent (20%) every two weeks. Prof. Addawe said if this keeps, then the total number of positive cases is expected to double by December if the city is to further increases its contact tracing programs and expanded testing.

Higher Positivity Rates, Not a Bad Sign?

According to Prof. Addawe, having higher positivity rates or increased cases is not a bad sign. Rather, it is a good indication that the expanded testing program has been effective. Since the city locates the carriers, control measures can be easily implemented. Thus, prevents further spread of the virus.

“When we get more positive cases, it is better because we are testing the right people and that we were able to capture those who are infected and that is a good indication that we are doing well in our testing.”

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Source: Public Information Office – City of Baguio

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