ILOILO City – Mayor Jerry Treñas again asked the national inter-agency task force to lower the city’s pandemic alert level to No. 2 from the current No. 3.
In a letter to Department of Health (DOH) secretary Francisco Duque III that he labeled “urgent”, Treñas cited coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) statistics as of Feb. 23 showing the “moderate risk” classification of the city.
The average daily attack rate (ADAR) per 100, 000 population dropped from 29.15 percent to 7.57 percent these past two weeks.
Treñas said this was due to tight surveillance, stringent implementation of health protocols, massive testing, and swift isolation of close contacts.
“This significant data must be given preferential attention and considerable weight to merit the de-escalation of our alert status to Level 2,” according to Treñas.
He also said the city’s healthcare utilization rate (HCUR) is being affected by a confluence of factors not directly attributable to its capacity to augment health services.
As of Feb. 23, the HCUR was down to 48.87 percent from the previous 61.24 percent.
Treñas also pointed out that majority of patients in healthcare facilities here were from neighboring local government units.
“Considering that most of the hospitals here are referral hospitals, a significant portion of the admitted patients, with severe medical cases, are from nearby provinces and cities,” he said.
Treñas also cited economic considerations for seeking a lower alert level.
Under Alert Level 3, certain industries are prohibited from operating.
Treñas said the city government aims to resuscitate the local economy hobbled by loss of jobs and livelihood caused by lockdowns./PN
