City mulls stricter rules to curb COVID surge

The Iloilo city government may be compelled to impose stricter health protocols on workplaces and establishments if cases of COVID-19 continue to increase, Mayor Jerry Treñas warned on Tuesday.

According to the mayor, they are planning to impose additional measures to control the increasing number of COVID-19 cases, especially in the workplaces.

“In view of the increasing number of cases for the past several days, we are planning to have additional measures to control the cases. If they continue to go up, the Iloilo City Covid Team will be compelled to announce more measures in the next few days, especially in workplaces,” he said in a statement.

In an interview with Aksyon Radyo-Iloilo, the mayor said he might even reduce capacity in restaurants to 30 percent if cases continue to increase.

Over the weekend, the Iloilo City government issued an advisory calling for the strict implementation of health protocols in workplaces and restaurants in Iloilo City due to the spike in COVID-19 cases.

Among the health measures include limiting the working staff to 50% and employees who are either pregnant or have comorbidities and immune-compromised to adopt the work-from-home policy.

Employers are also advised to conduct regular antigen testing as screening for COVID-19 or real-time polymerase chain reaction test (RT-PCR) testing per month, if possible.

All employees with symptomatic cases or signs and symptoms must not report to work but consult a doctor as early as possible.

Unnecessary gatherings outside or even inside the workplace are highly discouraged while eating at respective cubicle areas must be observed with proper social distancing.

Data from the City Epidemiological Surveillance Unit (CESU) showed that the city recorded double-digit spikes in cases as of May 10.

The highest number of COVID-19 cases in a day was reported last May 8 with 51, followed by May 10 with 46 cases, and May 2 with 40 cases.

Treñas revealed that majority of the Covid-19 cases recorded were traced from workplaces or residences with local transmission. (ERS)