BACOLOD City – Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson urged Negrenses to show support behind this province’s medical frontliners who continue treating patients infected with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Lacson made the call Tuesday afternoon as he acknowledged the exhaustion of health care workers in carrying out their duties during the pandemic.
“To all Negrenses, our frontliners are now at the point of being consumed. Let us help and rally around them by staying at home and observing strictly our health protocols,” the governor stressed.
Lacson said mankind was unprepared for the ongoing health crisis which thrust health care workers “into the battlefield where the full strength of the enemy confronts” them.
“I know that you are already drained, not just physically, but also mentally and emotionally,” he added.
As of Tuesday afternoon, this province had almost 550 confirmed cases of COVID-19.
Late last month, the Canlaon Medical Society and the Negros Occidental Medical Society have expressed their alarm on the recent increase in COVID-19 cases in this city and this province due to local transmissions.
The two groups of medical doctors recommended that Bacolod, the capital city of Negros Occidental, be placed under enhanced community quarantine for at least two weeks again to limit the movement of people in order to contain the virus and prevent its spread to a level of high community transmission, which would be, according to them, more difficult to handle.
Local business leaders, however, opposed the proposal, saying they are already experiencing the negative impact of the economic downturn due to the quarantine measures imposed earlier.
Instead, they suggested implementing stricter enforcement of health protocols, aggressive tracking and improvement of the monitoring system and declaring of localized lockdowns in areas where community transmission is monitored.
Strictly enforce the minimum health standards, including physical distancing and wearing of masks, the local business leaders added. (With a report from PNA/PN)
