Mayor Jerry Treñas wants to upgrade the quarantine status of Iloilo City to curb the surge in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in the metropolis.
From the least restrictive modified general community quarantine (MGCQ), Treñas asked the National Task Force (NTF) Against COVID-19 to place the entire city under modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ).
“It cannot be discounted that Iloilo City is one of the critical epidemic areas being the urban and government center in Western Visayas. While strict observance of health and safety protocols is being enforced, the reclassification to a higher quarantine category is exigent under the circumstances,” the mayor said in a letter addressed to Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, NTF chief.
MECQ is the second most stringent quarantine classification imposed by the government.
Under this classification, “more sectors will be allowed to operate but work-from-home and other flexible work arrangements may be enjoined,” said Treñas.
According to the mayor, the city, based on the parameters set by the Department of Health (DOH), “has been categorized under the ‘high risk’ epidemic level as of May 12, 2021, ripe for a higher and stricter quarantine classification.”
As of May 15, the city recorded 6,946 confirmed cases of COVID-19, data from the City Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (CESU) showed.
Of the number 6,294 have recovered, 179 have died and 473 are considered active cases.
The city logged a 209 percent increase in the daily average of cases in the last 15 days compared to same period a month ago.
Treñas said the surge in COVID-19 infections “overwhelmed” hospitals in the city.
“In fact, one of the 20 hospitals operating in the city recorded an outbreak involving 28 confirmed cases among staff including its medical director.”
Majority of the hospitals temporarily stopped the admission of patients after reaching their full bed capacities, the mayor noted.
“Emergency room isolation units for emergency and urgent care designated for COVID-19 cases are overflowing with patients waiting to be admitted,” he said.
Meanwhile, Treñas assured that the city government will “provide assistance to the few sectors prohibited to operate during MECQ.
“Currently the City Social Welfare Development Office together with other department units are formalizing their proposals and programs of extending economic aid to our constituents affected by this pandemic,” the mayor said.
“Rest assured, our entreaty of being classified under a higher community quarantine classification is made responsibly and with the holistic welfare of our people as the top priority,” Treñas added.IMT
