Bacolod COVID-19 cases down

MANILA, Philippines — A decline in the number of coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19 cases in Bacolod City has been recorded in the past several weeks, according to Assistant Secretary Jonji Gonzales of the Office of Presidential Assistant for the Visayas.

“The emergency operations center has been proven to bring down the cases in the area with its data unification management and contact tracing system,” Gonzales said during a briefing on Friday.

The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases or IATF placed the city under modified enhanced community quarantine or MECQ  from Sept. 8 to 30 due to the increase in the number of confirmed cases.

Bacolod along with Metro Manila, Batangas, Iloilo City, Tacloban City, Iligan City and Lanao del Sur remain under general community quarantine (GCQ) until the end of this month.

As of Thursday, Bacolod has 279 active cases.

Mayor Evelio Leonardia had earlier sought the downgrading of their community quarantine status to modified GCQ, citing a continous decrease in the number of confirmed cases.

Travel ban lifted

As this developed, the travel ban between Iloilo City and Bacolod was lifted yesterday.

Bacolod Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran, city IATF chief, said those traveling to Iloilo are no longer required to secure a travel pass, but fastcraft passengers should fill out a health declaration form at the port.

Familiaran said non-residents are still required to undergo swab test upon arrival in the city.

He expressed optimism that the lifting of travel restrictions would help jumpstart tourism and the economy in the two cities.

In Cagayan, nine employees of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas in Tuguegarao City tested positive for COVID-19.

The Department of Health said Cagayan has 119 active cases as of yesterday, 63 of them in Tuguegarao.

A two-year-old girl who died at the Cagayan Valley Medical Center (CVMC) is among the 14 new cases.

A newborn and a 12-year-old girl from Barangay Dalaoig, Alcala and Barancuag, Tuao, respectively, were confined at the CVMC after they tested positive for the virus.

In Bulacan, 1,317 contact tracers were hired by the Department of the Interior and Local Government.

Eighty were assigned to the provincial capitol and 1,237 to the 21 towns and three cities in Bulacan.

44 more cops infected

Meanwhile, 44 more police officers have contracted the virus, the Philippine National Police (PNP) reported yesterday.

Seven of the new cases are from Metro Manila; six from Western Visayas; four each from Eastern Visayas, Zamboanga peninsula, Davao and Caraga; three from the Cordilleras; two from Cagayan Valley, and one each from Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Bicol, Central Visayas, Northern Mindanao, Soccsksargen and Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

The three other patients are from various administrative units of the PNP.

A total of 7,185 PNP personnel have contracted the virus. Twenty-two have died while 6,582 or 91.60 percent of the patients have recovered.

The PNP said 581 police officers are recuperating in hospitals and quarantine facilities. – Gilbert Bayoran, Raymund Catindig, Emmanuel Tupas, Ramon Efren Lazaro