Celebrate the new year, but remember there’s still a pandemic – Bacolod mayor

BACOLOD CITY, Negros Occidental, Philippines — Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia called on the public to continue to observe the health protocols, especially as they celebrate the New Year amid a renewed global surge of COVID-19.

“We cannot remain complacent and behave like the pandemic is over. On the contrary, it’s just around the corner,” Leonardia said in a statement Thursday, Dec. 30.

“We will be facing greater risks if we turn a deaf ear to calls of our government officials and local health experts to get vaccinated, secure a booster shot once qualified, wear protective gears such as face masks, attend at all times to your personal hygiene, avoid crowded places, observe physical distancing and prefer open spaces over airconditioned venues, among others,” he added.

Renowned health experts have detected what appears to be a global surge of fresh daily cases of COVID-19 across Europe, the United States, Australia and South Central America.

“It may just be a matter of time before the rapid transmission reaches the Asian continent if we are not consistently careful…The World Health Organization sees a very big challenge on the horizon,” Leonardia said.

The COVID-19 cases in western countries are quite staggering and the World Health Organization has expressed deep concern over the twin threats posed by both the Delta and Omicron variants.

International wire agencies reported that on the average, there were almost 900,000 daily COVID-19 cases from December 22 to 28 around the world.

Many countries, including the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Australia and even Bolivia, recorded new all-time highs in the last 24 hours.

The United States, for example, posted 258,312 new cases to eclipse its previous peak of 250,141 booked in January this year.

“Let us celebrate the holidays with our families and friends but let us always be reminded that we have minimum health protocols to comply with to ensure that our loved ones are protected,” the mayor reiterated.

ATM