Will Zambo revert to ECQ?

 ‘Spike in Covid-19 cases alarms officials’

WITH THE increasing number of active Covid-19 cases, Zamboanga City may be placed under the stricter Enhanced Community Quarantine or the lesser Moderate Enhanced Community Quarantine.

The national government’s Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID) has placed Zamboanga under the General Community Quarantine until the end of the month.

But with dozens of cases daily, the IATF-MEID may change Zamboanga’s quarantine classification to allow the local government to impose stricter measures or granular lockdown in areas where there are high numbers of Covid-19 cases, and prevent the spread of the deadly respiratory disease.

The spike in infections in the community are largely blamed to the Delta variant of the Covid-19 and the complacency of residents who continue to violate public health protocols despite repeated warnings from the local government and the City Health Office.

Zamboanga City now has hundreds of active Covid-19 cases and the number continues to increase.

City Health Officer Dr. Dulce Amor Miravite also noted that Covid-19 has already affected even the younger population with deadly consequences.

“Ta mira tamen kita at this time, tiene kita maga younger population also getting infected. We have compared our data from last year (when the original virus was detected) with the present situation, ahora tiene kita maga less than 15 years-old who died from Covid, so that we have to strictly follow the minimum health standards.”

“Let us protect ourselves, keep our family and our loved ones especially children and our senior citizens protected. Please take care,” Miravite said.

Mayor Beng Climaco, who chairs the local Covid-19 task force, has repeatedly called on residents to strictly follow the health protocols as the local government continues its massive vaccination program to be able to achieve herd immunity or inoculate at least 70% of Zamboanga’s almost or more than one million population.

She also issued an executive order making it mandatory for all travellers - whether they are fully vaccinated or not - entering Zamboanga to present their negative RT-PCR test result, especially now that Delta variant is the dominant variant not only in the country, but around the world.

The Delta variant was first detected in India, but quickly spread in more than 130 countries.

Climaco ordered a strict border control and implementation of the health protocols in Zamboanga. She said travellers must have negative Covid-19 test results, whether by Saliva RT-PCR test or nasopharyngeal RT-PCR test, before they enter Zamboanga.

She previously issued Executive Order 651-2021 that mandates all inbound passengers, whether APOR (Authorized Persons Outside Residence) or private individuals, regardless of reason or purpose of entry, including transit travellers to present negative RT-PCR test result within 5 days from date of specimen collection and their valid identification cards before they can enter Zamboanga City which is near the provinces of Basilan, Zamboanga Sibugay, Zamboanga del Sur and Zamboanga del Norte where Covid-19 cases are high.

The mayor said these are temporary measures designed to curb the sudden spike in Covid-19 cases in order to promote the health and safety of the general welfare of the citizens.

The Department of Health said that the National Capital Region (NCR) is now under Alert Level 4 due to the huge number of active Covid-19 cases there. The NCR is currently at high-risk case classification while intensive care utilization is also under high risk classification.

Areas under Alert Level 4, the second highest alert level, show high and increasing case counts with total Covid-19 bed and intensive care beds at increasing utilization rates.

“During this time, we must ramp-up active case finding, conduct risk-based testing using RT-PCR, and fast track vaccination among high-risk groups. There will also be intensified granular lockdowns from barangay down to the household level to contain transmission,” said DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire.

“We also call on everyone to continuously observe the minimum public health standards and consciously avoid these three C’s that pose higher risk of Covid-19 transmission when all are present in your activities such as Crowded places and Closed-contact settings where physical distancing may not be observed, and people have face-to-face interaction, and Closed spaces with poor ventilation,” she added. (Zamboanga Post)