CLOSED Nonessential stores and other establishments are again closed in Iloilo City after it was placed under modified enhanced community quarantine until the end of June due to a surge in COVID-19 cases. —IAN PAUL CORDERO/CONTRIBUTOR
ILOILO CITY, Iloilo, Philippines — Jaro Archbishop Jose Romeo Lazo has appealed to the national government to send help to Iloilo and Guimaras provinces, which are having a hard time coping with the spike in COVID-19 cases.
“We are running out of medical supplies and human resources as we still work for the curbing of the current spiking number of COVID-19 [cases] in Iloilo and Guimaras,” the prelate said in his June 17 letter to Health Secretary Francisco Duque III and COVID-19 vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr.
Lazo, who presides over the Jaro archdiocese that comprises Iloilo and Guimaras, appealed for more nurses to be brought here, medicines for those stricken with COVID-19, hospital beds, ventilators and vaccines.“The hospitals are hitting maximum capacity and the health-care-related debts are swelling,” he said.
“In your respective posts of public duty, many things can be done and a great difference can be made for our brothers and sisters who are struggling in the hospitals. We knock at heaven’s door for mercy and help. In turn, may Lord knock at your generous hearts,” Lazo added.
No entry
Chief executives in Western Visayas also appealed to the national government for additional and steady supply of vaccines amid the surge of COVID-19 cases in the region.
Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas, in a statement, said they needed to meet with Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases officials to “update [them] on the real situation in our [local governments] and request for a steady and consistent supply of vaccines considering the surge of cases we are constantly facing.” So far, only more than 8,000 have been fully vaccinated while 40,000 got their first dose out of the city’s 448,000 population, the mayor said.To halt the rise of cases in Iloilo, Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. suspended the entry of nonresidents into the province from June 18 to June 30.
Defensor said only returning residents, overseas Filipino workers, authorized persons outside of residence, health and emergency front-line personnel, government officials, persons from neighboring provinces going to and from the airport, public transport operators and persons crossing zones for work and business would be allowed into the province.
Iloilo, the economic center of Western Visayas, is a landlocked province on Panay Island, which includes Capiz, Aklan and Antique. Guimaras is an island across Iloilo, while Negros Occidental shares the island with Negros Oriental, which is part of Central Visayas.
Both the city and province of Iloilo are now under the stricter modified enhanced community quarantine status.
As of Friday, Iloilo province had 2,369 active COVID-19 cases while Iloilo City has 2,400, the Department of Health said. The active cases in Iloilo already represented nearly half of the 11,936 active cases in the region as of June 17.
No swimming
In Bacolod City, the capital of Negros Occidental, Mayor Evelio Leonardia ordered resorts and beaches closed on June 24 in anticipation of the large crowd that usually take a dip in the sea to celebrate the Feast of St. John the Baptist.
Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson also shut beaches, resorts and water parks and similar recreational venues in Negros Occidental from June 23 to June 25 to prevent mass gatherings on St. John the Baptist’s feast day.
As of Friday, Bacolod still has 2,037 active cases, while the rest of the province has 1,732 active cases. INQ