ILOILO City – The city government here is tapping the local police force to ensure that persons under monitoring (PUMs) are observing self-quarantine as the local government is still working on an ordinance to give teeth to the initiative.
“We are going to ask the support of the PNP (Philippine National Police) to enforce the voluntary quarantine even without the ordinance,” Mayor Jerry Treñas.
Treñas already talked with the Sangguniang Panlungsod for an ordinance on quarantine as there are already PUMs from Hong Kong, Macao and other areas where there are positive cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
He said Iloilo City has 82 PUMs. They came from Hong Kong, Macao, and South Korea, among other areas with reported Covid-19 cases.
“We are not saying that they are positive but we are asking them to go on voluntary quarantine. So that in case they will manifest symptoms, then they will be referred to the proper hospital,” Treñas said.
The mayor, upon his arrival on Tuesday from his official trip to Manila, said he will be meeting with various groups to look into their protocol in responding to COVID-19.
These include protocol that will be followed by health centers if there are suspected cases that will seek medication and the protocol that will be followed by the Department of Education regarding the various events related to closing or graduation ceremonies.
The mayor also would like to know the procurement status of the personal protective equipment (PPE) and additional masks.
Treñas sees a need for the city to be prepared. “I foresee that this situation will still escalate before probably it will go down. It will get worse before it can get better. But at the same time, importante na diri (it is important that here in the) sa city there is no need to panic,” he added.
Meantime, he also pushed for the accreditation of the Western Visayas Medical Center in this city’s Mandurriao district as testing center.
“To a certain extent, I will speak for the rest of Western Visayas. We have no test kits here, we have no accredited hospital to test the virus,” he said.
In his message addressed to the Department of Health, he said that it is their responsibility to “provide test kits to all the different regions” as local governments will also do their part.
“It is your responsibility and you have to provide that for us,” he said. (With PNA/PN)
