BY ADRIAN P. NEMES III
The Covid-19 recovery rate in Bacolod City was at 92.35 percent, as of Wednesday, but the Negros Occidental chapter of the Philippine College of Physicians urged the public to continue being vigilant against the threat of the Delta variant.
A statement sent to the DAILY STAR by its president, Dr. Ronel Sario, said that the province’s neighboring areas are currently experiencing another surge due to the Delta variant that is highly contagious and transmissible.
The PCP-NOC added that residents of Bacolod and Negros Occidental should have themselves vaccinated as this Covid 19 variant causes more complications than the original strain.
The doctors recommend that the public have proper air circulation and ventilation, maintain physical distancing of one meter or more, always wear face masks and shields, and have an interaction of less than 15 minutes.
Mayor Evelio Leonardia said that while there is a decreasing trend of Covid-19 cases in Bacolod, this does not mean that everybody should let their guard down especially that the situation nowadays is unpredictable.
Leonardia cited that in Manila, a surge in Covid cases was noted recently due to the Delta variant, resulting in the escalation of its status from General Community Quarantine to Enhanced Community Quarantine.
He said that, in the United States, most of the deaths and hospital confinement were traced to unvaccinated individuals.
Unless the pandemic is over, the danger is still there especially with the presence of the Delta variant and that is more than enough reason for us to ensure that we continuously follow health protocols at all times.
As of August 4, Bacolod lodged a total of 15,495 Covid cases and 14,310 of them have already recuperated, while 363 succumbed to the disease, records from the Emergency Operations Center showed.
On the same day, Bacolod registered 819 total active Covid cases, the lowest, so far, in about five months, the EOC added.
MODERNA VACCINES
A resolution asking the national government for a substantial allocation of Moderna vaccines to Bacolod City was unanimously approved by the Sangguniang Panlungsod Wednesday.
Councilor Renecito Novero, who authored the resolution, said the Philippines received three million doses of Moderna vaccine that were donated by the U.S.A to augment the vaccination rollout of the country.
Novero said that Moderna has announced that their jabs have a 90-percent efficacy rate and is proven to be 95 percent effective for severe cases. Bacolod currently administers Sinovac, AstraZeneca, Pfizer, and the single dose Johnson and Johnson’s Janssen vaccines.*
