DOH upgrades alert level in Bacolod

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines — The Department of Health (DOH)-Western Visayas office has placed this city under the stricter Alert Level 3 due to increasing COVID-19 cases.

The DOH regional office said Bacolod is now at moderate risk for COVID-19 while Negros Occidental is at minimal risk.

It cited the increase in the average daily attack rate or the number of new cases per 100,000 people as well as the two-week growth rate.

Bacolod logged 187 active cases while Negros Occidental recorded 216 as of Friday.

However, Dr. Edwin Miraflor of the city health office said Bacolod would remain under Alert Level 2 in the absence of an official announcement from the national pandemic task force.

Miraflor said Mayor Evelio Leonardia is expected to issue an executive order on the matter.

Citing the report of the DOH-Western Visayas Center for Health and Development, Leonardia said 414,880 residents or 101.02 percent of the eligible population in the city have been inoculated against COVID.

Meanwhile, provincial inter-agency task force on COVID-19 action officer Rayfrando Diaz said 102 travelers who arrived on 12 flights at the Bacolod-Silay Airport on Jan. 6 and 7 were found infected during antigen testing.

The travelers were quarantined at the Silay City Healing Center.

The unvaccinated among those infected will remain at the quarantine facility for 14 days while the vaccinated will stay for seven days, Zeaphard Gerhart Caelian of the provincial incident management team said.

On Jan. 6, Leonardia issued an EO requiring all inbound travelers from areas under Alert Level 3 to present a negative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test taken 72 hours before arrival.

In Negros Occidental, Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said a negative RT-PCR test is required for all inbound travelers starting today.

Granular lockdown

In Baguio City, several areas in five barangays were placed on granular lockdown.

The city recorded 155 new COVID cases on Friday, bringing the active infections to 433.

City epidemiologist Donnabel Tubera-Panes said they expect a surge in new cases in the coming days as indicators showed an active transmission.

Hospital critical utilization rate slightly increased from 38.57 percent to 39 percent while isolation unit utilization rate jumped from 1.11 percent to 11 percent.

Baguio City is among the areas where restrictions will be tightened starting today until Jan. 15. – Artemio Dumlao