BY CHRYSEE G. SAMILLANO
The Department of the Interior and Local Government and the Department of Health have recommended the implementation of segmental or partial lockdowns where there are clustering of COVID-19 cases, instead of an Enhanced Community Quarantine in Bacolod, City Administrator Em Ang said yesterday.
“Our national officials, including Mayor Evelio Leonardia, believe that in addressing this health crisis we should always balance life and livelihood. Many businesses have suffered and many workers have lost their jobs so if the city will be again be placed under ECQ, the situation could only worsen,” Ang said.
She added that for as long as there is no available vaccine, the public should observe the minimum health practices to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
About 52 percent out of 149 confirmed coronavirus disease cases in Bacolod City are local cases as of Monday, Ang said.
She added that she included the figures in the data she submitted yesterday to the national inter-agency task force (NIATF) so the recommendation of the Bacolod medical community to place the city under Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) againcan be properly evaluated.
Out of the 149 confirmed cases as of yesterday, 27 percent are locally stranded individuals (LSIs), 20 percent are overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and one percent is unknown. There are also between nine to 11 areas in Bacolod that were placed lockdown, she said.
Ang said she also submitted to the NIATF the number of COVID-19 patients who recovered and those that are admitted in hospitals, those under home quarantine, and the total number of deaths.
The data will be used by the NIATF to assess the quarantine status to be implemented in Bacolod City after July 31.
The Department of Health late yesterday reported that Bacolod has 152 confirmed COVID-19 cases with 82 local cases and 70 LSIs and OFWs.
Bacolod had one new domestic COVID-19 case involving a 38-year-old male who is now facility quarantined.
On July 20, Canlaon Medical Society president Dr. Ma. Ivy Malata and Negros Occidental Medical Society president Dr. Robert Puerta, wrote to President Rodrigo Duterte expressing their alarm on the recent spike of COVID-19 cases in Bacolod City due to local transmissions.
They recommended that Bacolod be placed under ECQ for at least two weeks in order to limit the movement of people as a means to contain the virus and prevent its spread to a level of high community transmission.*