Colder weather, coronavirus scare bring shivers to Baguio residents

Frank Cimatu

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Colder weather, coronavirus scare bring shivers to Baguio residents

Mau Victa

Though there are no persons under investigation for the 2019-nCoV in Baguio City, blast of cold weather this week makes residents anxious

BAGUIO CITY – Usually cold weather is most welcome here in Baguio. 

But when the temperature dipped to 11.2 degrees at 5 am Friday, January 31, it was met with more anxiety than excitement.

It is the coldest temperature for Baguio this year. Last January 4, the temperature dipped to 11.4 degrees.

In the higher reaches of Benguet, the cold reached 10 degrees, this does not even include the wind chill factor which can bring the cold down to 5 degrees.

If the tailend of amihan or easterly winds is at its last blast, the weather might still get colder.

Last year, it reached its coldest at 9.8 degrees on January 28.

This may be good for the cold hunters. But with the first victim of coronavirus in the Philippines identified last Thursday, January 31, and persons under investigation reaching 53, the cold is actually bad news.

Cold weather is known to serve as an ideal ground for viruses like the common cold and the flu. These viruses  have achieved the ability to spread between people, as they are more stable in cold air, and low humidity helps them to “float” for longer. 

Cold weather also decreases the bodily defenses, allowing viruses to enter the body with ease.

But so far, Baguio is safe from the dreaded coronavirus.

Department of Health-Cordillera (Kagawaran Ng Kalusugan – Cordillera) Infectious Disease Cluster Head Dr. Jennifer Joyce Pira said that there are no persons under investigation (PUI) with regards to the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV).

Pira said the DOH-CAR only monitored an individual who arrived from Guangzhou, China but has no history of travel to Wuhan, China and without any known contact with a confirmed 2019-nCoV case. The person also has no known contact with individuals with severe acute respiratory illness or sick animals.

She said that although the individual and two of his roommates are under quarantine, they are all doing well and show no signs of illnesses.

The DOH-CAR stressed that there are no cases of 2019-nCoV in the Cordillera region to date. – Rappler.com

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