Swab testing in Bacolod City. PHOTO BY CARLA GOMEZ (file)
BACOLOD CITY––This city may be placed under the more stringent modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) by June 16 due to a noticeable increase in COVID-19 cases, said City Administrator Em Ang.
Ang, executive director of the Bacolod Emergency Operations Center, said a source in the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging and Infectious Diseases (IATF) told her unofficially that the city may revert to MECQ due to its rising number of COVID-19 cases.
The Department of Health recently tagged Bacolod as a high-risk area for COVID-19.
As of June 12, Bacolod had 1,952 active cases, while the province had 2,368.
Negros Occidental Provincial Administrator Rayfrado Diaz said the surge in COVID-19 cases began when the IATF disallowed local governments from swab testing incoming passengers and placing them in quarantine upon arrival until their negative swab test results were out.
“The mayors are blaming them for that. They (local chief executives) want to assert local autonomy. They should allow local leaders to solve local issues. We have the capacity. Why will they not allow us?” he said.
LZB