South Cotabato now high-risk area for COVID-19, local execs say
KORONADAL CITY—South Cotabato province is now considered a high-risk area for COVID-19 in the Soccsksargen or Region 12, although officials continued to reassure the public the situation “is still under control.”
Dr. Rogelio Aturdido, South Cotabato health chief, noted that the province has the most number of COVID-19 cases in Region 12.
“South Cotabato is now considered as a special concern or high-risk area in the region due to its rising confirmed COVID-19 cases. In some villages, we already have a clustering of cases,” he said.
In the past six days, Aturdido said that South Cotabato recorded 34 COVID-19 cases and 20 of the patients don’t have a history of travel to places with COVID-19 contamination.
Aturdido said that some of the new COVID-19 patients in the province went to the General Santos City fish port complex, which was partially shut down from September 2 to 5, due to the number of infected persons whose exposure was traced to the facility.
Despite the growing number of COVID-19 cases in South Cotabato, Governor Reynaldo Tamayo Jr. claimed the situation “is still under control.”
“We are doing our best to contain the spread of COVID-19,” he said, noting the province is armed with an online system that can trace the contacts of persons who tested positive for the virus.
He was referring to the South Cotabato COVID-19 Contract Tracing System, which utilizes the scanning of QR codes to log the movement of a registered individual.
Tamayo said the COVID-19 situation in the province now warrants a total lockdown, but he said he will not impose the measure in order not to paralyze the recovering local economy.
From September 1 to 15, Tamayo ordered a border lockdown, meaning non-residents are not allowed to enter the province unless they are authorized persons outside of residence or those seeking medical services.
As of September 3, South Cotabato has 137 COVID-19 cases, accounting for 27 percent of the region’s 513 total cases.
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