ILOILO City – On the first day of the new year, Department of Health (DOH) Region 6 director Dr. Adriano Suba-an checked hospitals in the city and province of Iloilo. He assessed their preparedness for a possible post-holiday surge in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infections.
“We reminded hospitals to prepare. Kung hindi mangyari (ang surge), congratulations to everyone. Kung mangyari, at least ready po tayo,” said Suba-an.
Some of the hospitals increased their number of beds, he noted.
“Natutuwa po ako while naglilibot. We saw the preparations,” Suba-an said, adding that during a recent meeting of regional directors with DOH secretary Francisco Duque, vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez and other officials of the national inter-agency task force, they were told to prepare for a possible rise in infections.
“Forecasted na po ‘to. We are expecting the cases to go up because of the Omicron virus variant. In fact, the forecast is within one month cases will start to rise. We are closely monitoring the situation daily,” said Suba-an.
He reiterated the importance of the public strictly adhering to health protocols such as the wearing of facemask, regular hand washing or disinfection, and physical distancing.
Part of the campaign is to encourage everyone to avoid large gatherings, especially with those who are not members of the same household, and to ensure that spaces are well-ventilated.
READY TO TEST TRAVELERS
The Iloilo City government expressed readiness to test inbound travelers from the National Capital Region, Cebu and Boracay Island.
Mayor Jerry Treñas earlier expressed concern that infections may increase in the coming weeks following the holiday season and due to the influx of travelers.
Pending the issuance of an Executive Order, Treñas in a meeting with the City COVID Team on Jan. 3 said the city is prepared to test those who would voluntarily want to do so.
“Cases are rising based on the reports of the DOH. The NCR is now under Alert Level 3 and cases continue to go up. We need to protect ourselves and our families. I am asking everyone to get their booster shots three months after their second dose. We need to have additional protection against Omicron,” he stressed.
The mayor also reiterated a request to the national government for more Pfizer and Moderna vaccines against COVID-19; stressed the importance of preparing quarantine/isolation facilities; and coming up with new protocols for inbound travelers, among others.
Yesterday, Treñas canceled the face-to-face flag ceremony at city hall.
“While we still do not have any confirmed case of Omicron in the city, we need to be proactive about it. Halong gid anay! (Stay safe). I am asking everyone to stop gatherings with persons not from the same household,” said Treñas.
In Guimaras, the provincial government is also taking proactive measures. Cong. Ma. Lucille Nava, who is regularly communicating with Gov. Samuel Gumarin, said that among other proactive measures, the provincial government extended the contracts of personnel in its COVID facilities despite no admissions for more than two weeks already.
The province has also placed all COVID facilities on standby and maintains its policy on tourism-related travel – that only fully vaccinated individuals will nr allowed entry to the island./PN