Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas. Photo from his Facebook page
ILOILO CITY — After more than a month of heightened community quarantine restrictions, Iloilo City will appeal for a less restrictive status for the economy to recover.
Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas on Monday said the city government will appeal to Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) to be downgraded to General Community Quarantine status instead of a 15-day extension of its Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ) category.
“We appeal for GCQ but with heightened health protocols. The reason is for businesses to slowly start to recover but still following safety standards. We need to always wear masks properly, wash hands, sanitize with alcohol, maintain a one-meter distance, disinfect and open windows for ventilation,” the mayor said in a statement.
He cited the city’s COVID-19 Average Daily Attack Rate (ADAR) which has dropped from 24 to 18.
“But we should not be complacent because hospital capacity is still high considering the facilities in the metropolis also cater to patients from provinces (on) Panay Island,” Treñas said.
ADAR is derived by dividing the number of new COVID-19 cases in a city or province over a two-week period with its population.
An ADAR higher than seven is considered high risk.
Iloilo City was among the areas recommended by the IATF to be placed under MECQ until July 15.
The city was placed under MECQ on May 23 amid a surge in COVID-19 cases. The second highest community quarantine status has been extended twice already.