Delta variant does not scare health protocols violators

WITH HUNDREDS of residents apprehended daily by authorities for violating the health protocols, Mayor Beng Climaco reminded locals not to be complacent as the deadly Covid-19 continues to pose grave risk to everyone, especially now that the country is battling the Delta variant, the most contagious among all variants to date.

Climaco said the active Covid-19 cases are now over 100 from more than 2,800 in the past months as the local government continues to impose stricter measures to combat the spread of the virus in the community.

“The fight against the Covid-19 is not of the government alone. This is a personal battle between staying safe from getting infected with the virus. It is up to each and every one of us to ensure the safety of everybody, the safety of our family members and that is why it is important to follow the strict health protocols by always wearing our face mask and face shield and observe physical distancing at public places,” the mayor told The Zamboanga Post in a phone interview.

She said the emergence of the Delta variant is scaring health experts around the world because it is more virulent than all known Covid-19 variants at this time. “It has become the dominant variant in many countries, including the neighboring Indonesia and Malaysia and we don’t want it to spread here and that’s why we are doubling our efforts to vaccinate the people to prevent serious illness that needs hospitalization,” Climaco said.

“As we are thankful that we are now under GCQ, we really need to maintain our Covid protocols to continue lowering the cases. We need to exert more effort,” she said, referring to personal health responsibilities of each resident to help fight or control the spread of the virus. 

“Our death toll and the daily positive cases are not a sign for us to relax. It is a sign for us to continue to cooperate, to strengthen our safety measures, self-regulate and self-discipline. All our frontliners have dedicated and poured out their efforts to keep you safe. It’s about time that we cooperate,” Climaco further said. 

Security forces manning Covid-19 checkpoints and barangay leaders and tanods continue to apprehend health protocol violators by the hundreds every day. Many of those apprehended were not wearing face masks or face shields while in public places and people who attended mass gatherings which are prohibited by the local government.

Border guards also intercepted or stopped dozens of travellers trying to enter Zamboanga City without health requirements such as RT-PCR test and S-PASS which are required under Climaco’s executive order. (Zamboanga Post)