ILOILO City – Despite the gradual easing of pandemic restrictions, the Department of Health (DOH) reminds Western Visayans not to deviate from the minimum health protocols.
People, including minors, are reportedly flocking to malls, business establishments, plazas, and parks as age restrictions in most areas have been lifted.
“Our COVID case trend is lowering, but it should not result in complacency,” said Dr. Bea Camille Natalaray, DOH Region 6 spokesperson. “Indi kita magkompyansa. Let us continue to strengthen our local responses in all areas.”
Mayor Jerry Treñas of this city agreed.
“We worry because people are forgetting the protocols. We just want to ensure that cases will not increase,” Treñas said.
The city government deployed compliance teams composed of personnel of the Public Safety and Transportation Management Office and the Iloilo City Police Office to plazas and malls, especially during weekends.
Treñas noted particularly the Molo district plaza that has become “problematic (and) needs to be monitored every night.”
Mobility is expected as the region safely reopens the economy, according to Natalaray, but health protocols are still a must.
She encouraged everyone to get vaccinated, especially that the holiday season is fast approaching.
“Ang aton vaccination is open to everyone, sa aton eligible population. Let us get vaccinated. All family members naton nga eligible dapat mabakunahan na hopefully by December so that we could enjoy our holiday season,” she said.
With the vaccination, the DOH-6 officer said the cases could continuously decline.
As of Nov. 7, Western Visayas remained at “low risk” for COVID-19, or on Alert Level 2.
Of the provinces and highly urbanized cities in the region, Iloilo City has the lowest quarantine level (Alert Level 1) based on the DOH-6 data./PN
