ILOILO City – The last few days saw this city recording over 200 new infections from the Iloilo Fish Port in the City Proper and two call centers in Mandurriao district. Mayor Jerry Treñas urged the public to observe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) health safety protocols “to minimize the possibility of community infection in the whole city.”
“(We must) avoid the city going into enhanced community quarantine (again) where public movement (is) restricted and businesses (are) again closed except (the) essential (ones),” said Treñas.
As of Saturday, Aug. 8, Iloilo City had 295 cumulative COVID-19 cases – 192 local cases and 103 locally stranded individuals and repatriated overseas workers – data from the Department of Health (DOH) Region 6 showed.
Iloilo City also had nine COVID-19 deaths, all local or indigenous cases.
What started as two COVID-19 cases at the fishing port in Barangay Tanza on Aug. 2 ballooned to 105 by Aug. 7
On the other hand in Mandurriao, the city government’s COVID team reported to Treñas that 49 call center personnel contracted the virus on Saturday, and an additional 50 more cases were detected there yesterday.
As a precautionary measure, the mayor immediately ordered that call centers operate at only 50 percent of their total workforce effective today, Aug. 10.
“We will be strict with this 50-percent workforce operation for business process outsourcing companies. Their personnel should also strictly observe physical distancing. The rest of their agents may work from home,” said Treñas.
Most of the COVID-19-positive call center personnel belonged to IQOR, according to Treñas, and there was one at WNS.
One senior call center personnel died, Treñas also confirmed.
“I am requesting call centers to find ways for their agents not to dine together during meal breaks. They must be protected while they eat. Furthermore, they must avoid smoking, and smoking together,” said Treñas.
RESTRICTIONS
The past week, the city government instituted the following in a bid to curb the spike in COVID-19 cases:
* lengthening the curfew – from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m.
* prohibiting mass gatherings (religious gatherings, fiestas, parties, etc.)
* banning alcoholic drinks
* fish port / terminal market / call centers lockdown and disinfection
* two-week moratorium on the arrival of locally stranded individuals and overseas workers
* restricting the movements of senior citizens and minors
* work-from-home arrangement for workers 55 years old and above
* mandatory use of face shields for persons entering city hall
* mandatory use of face shields by city hall frontline workers
* suspension of flag-raising ceremony
* selective lockdown of barangays
“We have done these to minimize the possibility of community infection in the whole city. I thank all religious organizations, too, for following the restriction on mass gathering. Our goal is to minimize infections,” said Treñas.
The city mayor also extended for three more days effective last night the selective lockdown of the following (the earlier-imposed lockdowns expired Sunday night):
* IQOR
* Barangay Pala-Pala I, City Proper
* Barangay Pala-Pala 2, City Proper
* Barangay Tanza Baybay, City Proper
* Barangay San Juan, Molo
* Barangay North Baluarte, Molo
* Barangay Cuartero, Jaro
Treñas said the lockdown on the Iloilo Fish Port Complex will remain for as long as the management could not demonstrate substantial compliance to public health safety protocols (requiring people there to wear facemasks, provision of stations for hand-washing, physical distancing, etc.).
ILONGGO SENATOR WORRIED
Iloilo’s Senate Minority Leader FranklinDrilon expressed alarm over the increasing number of people testing positive for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, as well as the increasing rate of infection in the country, which is now reaching 12 to 13 percent in the past two weeks from below 10 percent early on in the outbreak.
“The spread of the virus in the country is worsening,” Drilon said in an interview with radio station DwIZ on Saturday.
“I’ve heard that they are attributing the surge in the number of cases to the increased testing capacity. Ang hindi nila binabanggit ay ang pagtaas ng positivity rate. If we look at the data in March and April, the infection rate then was between nine to 10 percent, now it is anywhere between 12 to 13 percent and is still increasing,” said Drilon.
Cumulative records would also reveal an increase in the rate of infection, which would dismiss the reasoning of government officials that the surge in the number of cases, outranking Indonesia, is brought about by increased testing capacity, according to Drilon.
“Our effort to prevent the spread of the virus is totally failing, because the virus continues to multiply. That is what we must arrest. We must take advantage of the lockdown to increase our contact tracing efforts,” Drilon said.
“For all that we are doing, having the strictest and longest lockdown that put the country at a standstill, we still failed to prevent the spread of the virus,” Drilon lamented./PN
