Iloilo mayor says city handling rise in COVID-19 cases well

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ILOILO CITY—Mayor Jerry Treñas on Monday assured the public that the city government is actively handling new COVID-19 cases, which had been rising for almost a month now.

People should get vaccinated against the dreaded virus to protect themselves and their families, Treñas said during a press conference.

“Cases are going up. We just have to protect ourselves. We just have to get vaccinated,” he said.

“No travel restrictions, no lockdowns. We have to live with this. We just need protection. There are medicines, we have Molnupiravir, which is not that expensive. They expired in June, but were extended by three months. Whoever needs them, we still have stock here,” he added.

Treñas said in-person classes in the city would return 100 percent in November, after a blended learning mode in August.

The mayor didn’t agree with suggestions for the city government to sponsor testing for students in time for the full return of in-person classes.

“We cannot afford it if they are in the thousands. It will be very expensive for the city,” he said.

Vaccinating students, he added, should not be mandatory.

Data from the City Epidemiological Surveillance Office showed that the city recorded 475 new COVID-19 cases from July 1 to 10, with an average of 48 new cases per day.

New COVID-19 cases have been consistently in double digits since June 8, when 11 cases were confirmed.

Of the 496,673 persons in the city who have been vaccinated, only 153,909 have received booster shots.

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