BACOLOD CITY, Negros Occidental, Philippines – Department of Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said they are strongly endorsing the recommendations of InterAgency Task Force Deputy Implementer Gen. Melquiades Feliciano and Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu to escalate the General Community Quarantine in Bacolod to Enhanced Community Quarantine.
Roque, in a press briefing with President Duterte, Cabinet Secretaries on CoViD-19 aired over RTVM tonight, reported that Bacolod has on the past four days reported 462 new cases or an average of “135 (sic) new cases per day”.
CoViD-19 chief implementer Secretary Carlito Galvez, in the same briefing, said they recommend Bacolod to be placed under MECQ along with Lanao Del Sur.
Lanao Del Sur Govenor Mamintal Adiong, Jr. has already recommended placing his province under MECQ, a recommendation that the Galvez and Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año also agreed with.
Lorenzana, when briefing the President earlier, said the conditions of the rest of the Philippines especially in the NCR where there is a decline in the number of cases.
He however mentioned that the same is not true with Bacolod, Iloilo City, and General Santos where cases appear to be spiking (“pumuputok”).
Duque concurred saying that there is a dip of almost 30 percent in the number of new cases from a high of about 35,000 in the previous weeks to about 24,000 in the recent two to four weeks.
Duque credited the decrease in the cases because of the restrictions imposed by putting the NCR under MECQ, which helped in the decrease of the contact rate, transmission rate, and the negative growth rate.
Sadly our city officials had not been proactive in containing covid. For one there is no centralizedd quarantine facility. It has been suggested bredco would be an ideal site to put up portable temporary quarantine facility but it seems it has fallen on deaf ears. Convenient scapegoat are the ordinary citizens which local media seem to be relish bashing calling us “pasaways” when generally Filipinos are the most obedient in obeying lockdowns to the detriment of losing jobs, livelihood. So, so sad………