Eight days after the onset of an acute gastroenteritis or diarrhea outbreak in Baguio City, the local government declared the situation under control.

"We can now confidently say that we are out of the woods; we can say that the outbreak is over," Mayor Benjamin Magalong of Baguio City said.

The reported cases of diarrhea in the city have returned to normal levels, which means that the outbreak has been contained.

"Since we have passed two incubation periods, our cases are going down, and there are no clustering of cases from January 7-8, and that we have identified the water sources, then we can say that the outbreak is over," Dr. Celia Flor Brilliante, Baguio City Health Services Officer, added.

The virus came from contaminated water supplied from some private water delivery companies, according to health authorities.

The potential impact of bacteria in water sources is still being considered.

"Since 50 percent of those isolated were positive for norovirus, the positively human-to-human transmission of person-to-person contact explains the spread, the fast spread," Dr. Donnabel Panes, Baguio City Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit Officer, said.

With the end of the diarrhea outbreak, the city is forming a task force to focus on water sampling and inspections at all facilities of water delivery companies.

Operations of private establishments that tested positive for the virus and bacteria were halted temporarily.

Disinfection and re-testing of water sources were also ordered by the local government as a precautionary measure.