MORE CASES. Western Visayas records more confirmed Covid-19 cases on Sunday, July 26. The region has a total of 1,092 Covid-19 cases -- 466 are active, 610 have recovered and 16 died. (DOH-CHD6 infographic)
ILOILO CITY – Travel between the cities of Bacolod and Iloilo, two highly-urbanized cities in Western Visayas, has been suspended anew starting Monday amid the increasing confirmed cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) in Bacolod City.
Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas reiterated his announcement during Monday’s flag-raising ceremony as a follow up of his previous declaration for the temporary suspension of travels posted in the local government’s official Facebook page Sunday evening.
In his message, he said one of the reasons for the temporary suspension was that even medical doctors in Bacolod City were asking President Rodrigo Duterte to place the city under enhanced community quarantine for the next 15 days due to the rising number of Covid-19 cases.
“I was reading a letter, it seemed like 10 barangays in Bacolod have been locked down. Unlike Iloilo which has 180 barangays, Bacolod has around 20. If 10, that’s one-half already,” he said.
The mayor, prior to arriving at the decision, consulted with the heads of the Regional Inter-Agency Task Force, the Regional Task Force, and members of the Iloilo City COVID Team where they tackled the increasing cases and the proactive measures to protect the residents of this city from infection.
Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia declared the suspension of sea travel from Bacolod City to Iloilo City, starting 11:59 p.m. on Sunday.
"I have talked with Mayor Treñas. Quite naturally, given the distinct circumstances surrounding our two cities, a one-way traffic between us will be impractical and not feasible at all. This necessitates a reciprocal action on our part," he said.
Aside from the suspension of trips, Treñas also announced the conduct of rapid diagnostic test for all city hall employees starting Monday afternoon at the building's ground floor.
Starting Sunday, the city government extended the lockdown from Zone 2 to Zone 3 of Bo. Obrero in Lapuz district for another 72 hours after four more individuals were tested positive for Covid-19. A mass testing will be conducted in the area during the lockdown period.
“We just want to make sure and to have a peace of mind,” Treñas said.
Covid-19 bulletin number 122 released by the Department of Health Western Visayas Center for Health Development logged 56 new confirmed cases for the region and one authorized person outside of residence tagged to Pasay City on Sunday, July 26.
The new cases raised the region’s total cases to 1,092 where 466 are considered as active cases.
The new cases were from the 593 laboratory results released by Covid-19 laboratory centers. Forty of the new positives were from the 547 laboratory results released by the Western Visayas Medical Center sub-national laboratory, 15 from the 24 results coming from the Teresita L. Jalandoni Provincial Hospital Molecular Laboratory and two from the two tests conducted by the Qualimed Hospital Molecular Laboratory.
About 27 individuals from Iloilo province tested positive, 13 from Negros Occidental, nine from Capiz, four from Iloilo City, two from Bacolod City and one from Antique.
Of the new cases, five are under home quarantine while the rest are in patient care facilities.
The region also posted 14 new recoveries, increasing the total recovered patients in Western Visayas to 610.
Seven of the new recoveries were from Negros Occidental, three each from Capiz and Iloilo province, and one from Guimaras.
The Covid-19 death toll stands at 16. (PNA)
