City mulls MECQ extension as COVID cases keep rising

By Joseph B.A. Marzan

Iloilo City residents may have to keep staying at home and reminisce the nightlife and the taste of alcohol as the city government on Friday announced it would seek an extension of the Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ) status, including the curfew and liquor ban.

The move was prompted by the continuing rise in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in the city.

The city hit its peak so far this year with 116 new cases reported on May 27.

The latest batch included 25 index cases and 73 local transmissions, excluding 3 Returning Overseas Filipino Workers (ROFW) and 1 Authorized Person Outside of Residence (APOR).

CHO data also showed that from May 1 to 27 alone, the city has logged 1,306 cases with an average of 48 new cases per day.

The tally includes 1,002 local transmissions and 304 index cases (excluding 21 ROFWs, 45 returning residents, and 22 APORs).

The number also includes 66 new cases this week in the City Hall alone, with 2 deaths as confirmed by the city government.

In separate statements, Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas expressed concern and vowed to continue imposing tight measures to June 2021.

These include requesting an extension of the MECQ regime until June 15, and extension of the 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. curfew and the ban on the sale and consumption of liquor until June 30.

He confirmed his plans in an interview with Bombo Radyo Iloilo on Friday.

“We are alarmed that is why we extended our curfew and our total ban on liquor up to June, and we are still looking at other protocols we need to extend because we have so many cases.”

Treñas also raised the issue of the dwindling numbers of available hospital beds and nurses in the city for both COVID and non-COVID patients, including those from other areas of Panay and Guimaras Islands.

He also announced in another statement Friday that the city would hire 30 nursing aides to be assigned to different hospitals that will need them.

“I also worry about the lack of hospital beds and nurses because many nurses are also infected. Many are calling me, and there are three hospitals which we will need to help. We need 40 for our quarantine facilities, and 50 for our newer vaccination sites. We will still discuss what we will need,” he said.

 

BARANGAYS ON LOCKDOWN 

Treñas also issued Executive Order No. 49, series of 2021 on Friday, which imposes 72-hour surgical lockdown on specific areas in 4 barangays in the city from 6 p.m. Friday to 5:59 p.m. on May 31.

According to the text of EO No. 49, four barangays in the city with consistent increase in the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases were Guzman-Jesena, Mandurriao (14), Tabuc Suba, Jaro (9), Veterans Village, City Proper (8), and Bolilao, Mandurriao (8).

The lockdown only covers certain portions of the said barangays:

– Block 1 of JMI Village (Guzman-Jesena);

– Portion of Zone II (Veterans Village);

– Block 47 Great Vision (Bolilao);

– Block 48 Angelica Store (Bolilao);

– Block 56 (Bolilao);

– Tulihaw St. of Modern Homes (Tabuc Suba);

– 372 Maya Street (Tabuc Suba); and

– McArthur Drive of Golden Homes (Tabuc Suba).

Tighter restrictions will be imposed on the said areas such as:

– Curfew of 8:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m.;

– Strict stay-at-home orders;

– Only APORs will be allowed entry and exit;

– Ban on both public and private transport during the surgical lockdown period;

– Mandatory random COVID-19 testing via Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR);

– Continuing contact tracing; and

– Referral to quarantine facilities for confirmed COVID-19 patients in these areas, which shall be free except for the authorized quarantine hotels.

The city government is also mandated by the new EO to provide food and medical needs to residents under surgical lockdown using the list of necessary medicines submitted to the CHO by barangay officials.

Other regulations under EO No. 41, which imposes the MECQ, were also reiterated in EO 49, including the ban on gatherings, restricted movement of vulnerable sectors, and ban on the sale and consumption of liquor.

While EO 49 states that the surgical lockdown is slated until May 31, it may be extended for disinfection, testing, and other local health interventions of the city government.