Kidlat Tahimik tests positive for COVID-19 after Ibagiw festival

Kidlat Tahimik has tested positive with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

The Baguio-based National Artist disclosed the news in a Facebook post on the Baguio Chronicles page Sunday, saying he felt the need to openly declare his case after being active in the Ibagiw Festival last month.

"On December 11, a routine swab test at the Triage at the Baguio Convention Center diagnosed this National Artist to be POSITIVE for Covid-19," he wrote.

According to the National Artist, he is currently in a "self-imposed quarantine" and "visited daily by a throng of medics. These PPE-dressed health officials come in an ambulance to monitor my temperature, my oxygen count, my difficulty of breathing, my BP," he wrote.

His self-quarantine came after the 3rd edition of Ibagiw Festival last month.

With the theme Breath Baguio, the festival was meant to "promote Baguio as a health resort and culture center in the North," Kidlat said. 

"For five weeks, Baguio festooned into a town brimming with artworks and artisan displays," he added.

Kidlat also pointed out how Baguio became a model LGU for pandemic management after its Mayor Benjie Magallong's strict social distancing protocols.

He said Ibagiw "was meant to show Baguio was on the way to recovery."

"With the success of IBAGIW, we artists showed our city in the mountains can have its cake and eat it too. The curated art festival mounted in COVID-19 time was envisioned by artists as some sort of vaccine to the lockdowned souls of Baguio," he wrote.

Kidlat felt the need to declare his case as he had been pretty active during Ibagiw, "present at the Baguio Convention Center almost everyday, guiding visitors and obliging visitors' requests to have a selfie with the artist."

Kidlat said "Regretfully, I may have had lapses in face-mask security—posing for a selfie sans mask."

"Inadvertently I might have exposed myself to the coronavirus. In turn, this would be of concern for those of you who were exposed to me," he added.

"For any of you who might have been exposed to my presence during the festival, please take precautions and monitor your health. Just in case!" Kidlat said.

Since his swab test, people he had close contact with have all been swabed. "So far, all have been diagnosed negative," the National Artist said.

His disclosure came with a little self-reflection. According to Kidlat, he would playfully end his emails since the lockdowns began in March with, "'Hoy, don't forget the 11th Commandment!!!' Followed by 'Thou Shalt Not Covet Thy Neighbor’s COVID.' Signed: Kidlat Tahimik." 

"Na karma ba si Kidlat Tahimik?" He asked. "Had I been too flippant about this health issue? Yes, it was meant to be humorous (patawa) in tone. But, it was a dead serious warning to my friends to please stay safe."

"If you have not had any signs of fever or loss of appetite or fatigue, you need not worry. Please stay safe. - Kidlat Tahimik (National Artist of Baguio)," he ended his note.

— LA, GMA News