MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte is expected to decide today whether to upgrade or extend anew quarantine measures in Bacolod City after July 31.
Duterte will be meeting with the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases Thursday evening to discuss the body’s recommendation on quarantine classifications for the country, his spokesperson Harry Roque told CNN Philippines’ The Source.
“There are still appeals to be made by the local government unit chiefs so the recommendations are all preliminary and subject to finalization on Thursday,” Roque said.
Doctors from Bacolod City and Negros Occidental earlier wrote to the President, urging him to place Bacolod City under ECQ for two weeks due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) community transmissions.
This call, however, was rejected by Secretary Carlito Galvez, the chief implementer of the national government’s policies on COVID-19.
“Hindi po practical,” said Galvez, reiterating the socio-economic impact of locking down an entire town or city.
“We do not need more collateral. Our economy is already down,” Galvez said.
He compared the situation in Bacolod from Metro Manila or Cebu, where there were thousands more COVID-19 cases and more fatalities.
“Hindi pa naman kalala ‘yung Bocolod City na mag-ECQ,” said Galvez.
He was in this city for a meeting with chief executives of highly-urbanized cities and provinces in Western Visayas together with the Department of Health (DOH) 6 and Western Visayas Regional Task Force on COVID-19.
At the meeting Wednesday morning at a hotel in Mandurriao district were governors Arthur Defensor Jr. of Iloilo, Samuel Gumarin of Guimaras, Esteban Evan Contreras of Capiz, Rhodora Cadiao of Antique and Florencio Miraflores of Aklan, and Mayor Jerry Treñas of Iloilo City.
Galvez said each time he visits here, all the local government leaders are present, which seldom happens in other regions.
He lauded Western Visayas for having more recoveries than active cases, saying it’s a sign that the region is performing well against the viral illness.
“Kanina very revealing na 40 ang suicide cases samantala ang deaths sa COVID only 16 since nagsimula tayo,” said Galvez.
Based on the July 29 data of DOH-6, out of the region’s 1,208 total COVID-19 cases, 651 have already recovered. The latest data also bared a new death, bringing the total number to 17.
CALL FOR ECQ RETURN
Dr. Ma. Ivy V. Malata, president of Philippine Medical Association–Canlaon Medical Society, wrote a letter to President Duterte, on behalf of physicians and concerned citizens in Bacolod City, to place the city under ECQ for two weeks.
“We are now the highest in Western Visayas, and there are hundreds of pending results coming in. Some hospitals have declared full COVID-19 capacity. Numerous healthcare workers and frontliners have been admitted or home-quarantined,” according Malata.
Negros Occidental Medical Society president Dr. Robert Puerta made a similar call during a virtual consultation with city government officials.
Doctors know “the limitations of our healthcare system,” said Malata.
“We would like to appeal to the National IATF for an ECQ for at least 2 weeks to help us contain the virus, to help the healthcare system recuperate, and to give us time to institute and implement appropriate interventions, especially with the way LSIs and OFWs are being handled,” she added.
As of July 29, Bacolod City recorded 105 COVID-19 cases.
The city also has 71 COVID-19-positive locally stranded individuals and repatriated overseas Filipino workers.
Bacolod City with the rest of Western Visayas remains under “medium risk” modified general community quarantine until July 31./PN
