More restrictions imposed as cases in Iloilo City surge

Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas imposed more restrictions as coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases continue to rise in Iloilo City.

As of 11:40 p.m. Saturday until 2:45 p.m. Sunday, Iloilo City recorded 84 new COVID-19 cases.

According to Treñas, 42 of the new cases are workers from business processing outsourcing (BPO) firms, two Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), one bank employee, one business analyst, one hospital orderly, and 37 local cases.

Iloilo City has overtaken Bacolod City in terms of the highest number of confirmed cases in the entire region excluding Returning Overseas Filipinos (ROFs), locally stranded individuals (LSIs), and authorized persons outside residences (APORs), based on the data from the Department of Health in Western Visayas (DOH-6) as of Aug 8, 2020.

The city now has 192 cases with 66 recoveries, nine deaths, and 117 active cases while Bacolod City has 183 total cases with seven deaths, 31 recoveries, and 145 active cases.

Following the surge of cases, Treñas imposed more restrictions in a bid to stop the community transmission of COVID-19 in the metro.

Starting today, Aug 10, 2020, the mayor ordered BPO firms in the city to operate at 50 percent capacity following the surge of positive cases involving BPO workers.

The mayor also requested call centers to intensify their protocols especially in practicing social distancing.

“I am requesting the call centers to find a way for all agents not to eat at the same time or to establish protection while they eat. Furthermore, avoid smoking, and smoking together.”

He also extended the localized lockdowns in COVID-19-hit areas such as IQOR Iloilo, Iloilo Terminal Market and barangays Rizal Pala-pala Zone 1, Rizal Pala-pala Zone 2, Tanza Baybay, San Juan, Cuartero, and North Baluarte.

On Sunday evening, Treñas announced a three-day lockdown starting 6 am today in the following barangays – Airport (5 cases) and Guzman-Jesena (4 cases) in Mandurriao, Calumpang (5 cases) in Molo, Simon Ledesma (5 cases) in Jaro, and Rizal Estanzuela (4 cases) in City Proper.

The mayor said non-essential travel from Guimaras shall not be allowed up to Aug 17, 2020.

Meanwhile, the mayor also appealed to stop mass gatherings, religious gatherings, fiestas, and birthday celebrations.

In response, the Archdiocese of Jaro has announced that public masses and liturgical celebrations are cancelled effective Saturday, August 8, 2020 until further notice.

Last week, the mayor re-imposed the liquor ban and moved the curfew hours to an earlier time starting 8 p.m. to 4 a.m.

Other restrictions are on the movement of senior citizens and minors; work from home arrangements for 55 years old and above; use of face shields for persons with transactions at City Hall and all frontliners.

The mayor also suspended the Monday flag ceremony at the City Hall in the meantime.

With the imposition of protocols, Treñas hopes that the transmission of COVID-19 in Iloilo City will slow down and avoid reverting to the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ).

“We have done these in order to minimize the possibility of community infection in the whole city. I thank all religious organizations for following these restrictions. We are doing these things to minimize the level of infection and to avoid the city going into enhanced community quarantine where movement will be restricted and businesses will again be closed except for essential businesses,” Treñas said. (ERS)