‘WAR IS NOT OVER YET’: City mulls tight watch, mandatory test on LSIs, OFWs

As coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases in the city continually drop to single digit this November, the real challenge for Iloilo City is to maintain the trend, according to Mayor Jerry Treñas.

With the holiday season fast approaching, Treñas said tight watch on arriving locally stranded individuals (LSIs) and returning Overseas Filipino Workers (ROFs) is necessary to sustain the containment of Covid-19 cases in the metro.

“Ang challenge ta pagsiling nubo ang cases limtan na nila wala na gaface shield and physical distancing that is why we have to make sure that we remind them especially subong pasulod na ang paskwa,” he said in the regular Uswag Patrol program of the Iloilo City government on Tuesday.

The mayor said they are planning to implement the mandatory quarantine and swab testing of all arriving LSIs and ROFs this December.

In case the venue for the testing is unavailable especially during Sunday, Treñas said the swab testing will be conducted in their homes or in the area where they are quarantined.

“We are planning para ma-maintain ta ang nubo nga cases, i-swab ta ang tanan nga maalabot kay may ara naman ta laboratory. We will be making sure everyone who will be arriving this December will be tested kay pasulod na ang paskwa madamo na sang mga LSIs maalabot,” he furthered.

Covid-19 testing in Iloilo City has been further capacitated following the start of operations of the Uswag Iloilo City Molecular Laboratory.
The laboratory can process up to 400 swab samples a day was granted permit to operate by the Department of Health (DOH) starting November 20 until December this year.

Meanwhile, Covid-19 cases in the metro have continually dropped.

A case comparison graph by the Iloilo City Covid-19 Team indicated that the average daily new cases in the city dropped by 77 percent, from 53 in October to 12 in November.

The highest average daily new case was recorded on Oct 2 with 86 cases while the lowest so far was on Nov 23 with 5 new cases.

On Monday, the city was no longer among the top five provinces or highly urbanized cities with high number of new COVID-19 cases.

As of 12 noon Thursday, the city has yet to log new cases.

Treñas said the city only posted five new cases on Monday, a far cry from the double digit figures it logged in October.

“I am humbled to receive a congratulatory message from DOH Region 6 because for the first time since the start of the pandemic, Iloilo City didn’t land on top for Provinces or Highly Urbanized Cities with Covid-19 cases in the region,” he said.

Despite the good news, Treñas cautioned the public to “remain vigilant so we can finally say that the City of Love is COVID-free. The war isn’t over, but we will overcome this together.”

Treñas said the holistic approach of the city government together with the community attributed to the drop of Covid-19 cases in the metro.

He said that implementation of health protocols in wakes and the strict monitoring of compliance officers in the metro including the mandatory installation of plastic barriers in establishments are among the measures that helped significantly reduce the cases. (ERS)