Mayor John Dalipe Thursday afternoon convenes the local IATF to assess the current situation related to COVID-19 amidst public concerns on the nationwide retention of alert levels with some restrictions due to uptick in cases in various parts of the country.
The meeting discussed ways to allay public fears on COVID resurgence with emphasis on the need for people to protect themselves, their families and their community from COVID, which remains ever-present.
Vaccination and booster jabs should also be encouraged especially for those who are immunocompromised, as this is the most effective tool or measure to prevent deaths and severe symptoms of COVID, the IATF members agreed.
As of April 23, Zamboanga City logged 9 active COVID cases, with one new case, no new recoveries and no new deaths. All these cases are from the community and were were incidental findings, as the patients were admitted to hospitals to undergo some procedures but had to undergo COVID testing as a requirement.
The 9 active COVID cases are either unvaccinated or not boosted and are immunocompromised, meaning, with impaired immune system, according to the City Health Office.
Infectious Disease Specialist Dr. Jejunee Rivera of the Mindanao Central Sanitarium said the imposition of alert levels in various areas due to uptick in COVID cases, as reported in national media, is nothing new, as these areas have been under the same alert level since before.
Besides, the City Government through the City Health Office has a very effective COVID prevention, detection, isolation, treatment and reintegration (PDITR) plan, which is why it has high vaccination coverage and reduced the cases to a minimum, Rivera added. (Sheila Covarrubias, photo courtesy by Kathy Wee Sit)
(Source: City Government of Zamboanga Facebook page)