ILOILO City – A day after President Rodrigo Duterte declared a nationwide state of public health emergency due to the threat of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the city government announced the cancellation of three mayor events.
The first-ever Iloilo Summer Arts Festival originally planned for this April and May will be moved to October.
The Paraw Regatta Festival, initially scheduled from Feb. 23 to March 1 then moved to April 1 to 5, has been cancelled for the second time, with no definite new date for staging.
Dance Xchange 2020, an international event of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), will be moved to October from its original April 29 to May 2 schedule.
In announcing the cancellations, Mayor Jerry Treñas cited the health advisory of the Department of Health (DOH) regarding public events and gatherings issued in February. The DOH advisory read:
“With the ongoing threat of the spread of the 2019 novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV ARD), the Department of Health strongly urges the public to avoid attending, participating in, and organizing events that draw a huge number of attendees. The DOH likewise recommends the cancellation of such planned big events or mass gatherings until further advice.
“To further minimize the risk of contracting 2019-nCoV ARD, the public is advised to avoid crowded places and continue to practice self-protection measures.”
Treñas said the Iloilo Summer Arts Festival will be staged in October. He was hopeful that by then, the situation would have already improved.
For the new schedule of Paraw Regatta, he said he would still be discussing it with the organizers.
Treñas has also ordered the cancellation of “moving up” ceremonies for pupils of city government day care centers. “Moving up” referrers to the pupils’ transition to a higher level of learning.
The children’s certificates will just be released by day care teachers to the parents, he said.
As to the graduation ceremonies of various elementary, secondary and tertiary schools, Treñas said he would be conferring with various school authorities.
“The safety of all Ilonggos is the paramount consideration for all our decisions,” said Treñas. “We will do our best to make Iloilo safe for everyone.”
He appealed for the public’s “utmost cooperation.”
Meanwhile, Dr. Shirley Halili-Cruz, the Dance Xchange director, said “It is with a heavy heart that we made this decision (to cancel), considering that the excitement for this grandest international dance festival has truly gone high.”
She said the NCCA consulted various organizations and government agencies both locally and internationally.
Dance Xchange has some 200 foreign delegations from New Zealand, Nepal, Mexico, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Cambodia, Turkey, England, Japan, Vietnam, India, Sri Lanka and Singapore.
“We recognize the high level of risk should we insist on holding the event this April,” according to Cruz. “We are convinced that it is for the best interest of everyone to postpone the Dance Xchange 2020 to a much later date in the hope that by that time the COVID-19 scare would have been resolved.”
COVID-19 seems to start with a fever, followed by a dry cough.
The incubation period – between infection and showing any symptoms – lasts up to 14 days, according to the World Health Organization. But some researchers say it may be as long as 24 days. And Chinese scientists say some people may be infectious even before their symptoms appear.
After a week, it leads to shortness of breath and some patients require hospital treatment.
Treñas recently ordered that foreigners from countries with confirmed cases of COVID-19 are prohibited from attending mass gathering.
People with a history of travel to other countries with COVID-19 and have not completed 14 days of quarantine are also not allowed to attend mass gatherings, he added.
Treñas also urged residents to practice proper respiratory hygiene when at mass gatherings. This includes covering the nose and mouth with disposable tissue or elbow when coughing or sneezing. Dispose used tissue properly.
Persons with signs and symptoms of respiratory infection such as cough and cold should wear medical masks, he added, and after contact with respiratory secretions, one should perform hand hygiene./PN
