The City Council of Bacolod has requested the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) to grant a 15-day extension of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) here.
The month-long ECQ in this city is set to end on April 30, and Bacolod, which is not listed as a “high-risk” area, is expected to be placed under general community quarantine (GCQ) afterward.
During a special session yesterday, presided by Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran, the City Council passed a unanimous resolution “urgently and earnestly appealing to the National IATF to allow the city government to extend the ECQ until May 15.”
Familiaran told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) that the City Council sent a copy of the resolution to the City Mayor’s Office for the endorsement of Mayor Evelio Leonardia.
“Bacolod City serves as the center of business and leisure in the province of Negros Occidental and even in the Island of Negros and the lifting of ECQ will predictably cause a sudden influx of people whose number and movements may become already beyond control,” the resolution said.
As of Tuesday, Bacolod has nine confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases, including two deaths. Four have recovered while two are under home quarantine. One patient is still in a hospital.
According to the City Council, at least 150 residents are still waiting for their swab test results, presenting a situation of uncertainty and requiring immediate and extraordinary, if not abnormal, approaches for control and cure.
Hundreds of Bacolod residents, both overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and non-OFWs, are returning to the city starting Tuesday and will have to undergo a mandatory quarantine of at least 14 days.
“In addition to these returnees, there are Bacolod residents who are direct contact of Covid-19-positive patients, who must be and are now being quarantined to secure the life and health of their families and neighbors, and Bacolod residents as a whole,” it added.
The resolution also said there were already local transmissions in two villages, Banago and Villamonte, which are thickly-populated areas, thus, the spread of the virus needs to be contained.
“There being no known cure yet for Covid-19, the best and most effective approach to combat the same is the prevention thereof,” it added.
On March 27, Leonardia issued Executive Order 26, placing Bacolod under ECQ from March 30 to April 14. The ECQ was extended until April 30, as provided in EO 29 issued by the mayor on April 8.
However, the Department of the Interior and Local Government has said that only the national government has the authority to modify community quarantine levels in cities, municipalities, provinces, and regions.
This means that only the IATF-EID will determine if a city, town, or province will be placed under ECQ or GCQ.
(Nanette Guadalquiver ndb via pna)
