ILOILO City – Despite the city being under modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) since June 1, coronavirus infections here are spreading fast instead of slowing down.
The city government will thus be asking the National Inter-Agency Task Force (NIATF) to extend the MECQ to June 30, said Mayor Jerry Treñas.
“We (also) requested additional vaccines,” he added.
The metropolis has been recording over 100 new coronavirus infections since June 1, city government data showed: June 1 – 109; June 2 – 124; June 3 – 118; June 4 – 125; June 5 – 119; June 6 – 107; June 7 – 136; June 8 – 103; June 9 – 102; and June 10 – 171.
The Department of Health (DOH) Region 6 has slightly different figures but these are still at least a hundred new cases daily.
“The MECQ, which limits people’s movement, seeks to slow down the spread of COVID-19. Hospitals have reached their capacities and several patients are already in their waiting lists. Quarantine facilities are also getting full,” Treñas said.
Based on the COVID-19 Regional Case Bulletin No. 440 of the Department of Health 6, Iloilo City has the highest number of active cases in the region at 2,296, as of June 11.
The regional health department classified the city as “high risk” for posting 82.13 health care utilization rate based on a June 5 data.
Treñas said he also asked support from Health secretary Francisco Duque III, particularly for consumables like reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing kits and personal protective equipment for the Iloilo City Uswag Molecular Laboratory.
The city mayor also appealed for additional medical personnel to augment the number of frontliners in the health and quarantine facilities, and for additional COVID-19 vaccines, among others.
As a response, the DOH hired 38 nurses. Government offices like the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) 6, Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) 6, Police Regional Office (PRO) 6, and Philippine Army’s 3rd Infantry Division (3ID) also deployed their respective uniformed personnel to city hospitals.
Since last week, COVID-19 Focal Person Dr. Roland Jay Fortuna said the deployment so far included 10 nurses of BFP-6 at the Metro Iloilo Hospital and Medical Center (Jaro); six nurses of PCG-6 at The Medical City Iloilo (Molo); and eight aides of the 3ID at Western Visayas Medical Center (Mandurriao).
The city mayor also thanked the national government agencies for the response.
Fortuna said the augmentation of staff will stay as long as the hospitals need them to manage COVID patients.
The city government also provided board and lodging to uniformed personnel./PN
