CAGAYAN de Oro Mayor Rolando ‘Klarex’ Uy did not attend a scheduled press conference that was supposed to outline his administration’s health policy for the next three years against the Covid-19 Monday.
City hall officials said Uy skipped the event to be with a delegation of Miss Cagayan de Oro 2022 pageant contestants who paid him a visit to his office.
Instead, Uy sent City Health Officer Dr. Rachel Dilla, City epidemiologist Dr. Joselito Retuya, Dr. Teodoro Yu Jr, and Dr. Ina Grace Chiu to answer the questions from reporters.
The Facebook page of “Cagayan de Oro City Information Office” posted photos of Mayor Uy receiving the Miss Cagayan de Oro 2020 contestants who paid him a visit in his office.
“Before we came here, we were in the city mayor’s office and there were many visitors,” Dilla told reporters.
The press conference was the first for Uy on how to ramp up the measures against Covid-19 as an uptick of new cases was reported last weekend.
Yu said there are now 59 active Covid-19 cases recorded last weekend up from 36 cases recorded last Tuesday.
Data showed that the city registered 18 active cases on June 29, the last day of office of former Mayor Oscar Moreno.
Moreno led Cagayan de Oro during the first two crucial years of the pandemic that was characterized by community lockdowns and strict public health programs.
Cagayan de Oro’s response to the pandemic was widely admired by nearby local governments that newly-elected Iligan City Mayor Frederick Siao hired Dr. William Bernardo to head their city health programs.
Bernardo was the acting City Health Officer and in charge of Cagayan de Oro’s Universal Health Care Program.
Dilla assured that the Cagayan de Oro health office has enough good doctors and nurses to answer the health needs of its residents.
She said they would implement a vaccination program that would inoculate the remaining residents in the city.
In their July 15 vaccination report, Chiu said 581,439 residents or 96.14 percent of Cagayan de Oro’s population have been inoculated; and 55,972 residents, or 91.90 percent were given their second dose.
Chiu said what the vaccination program lagged behind are the booster shots: only 147,555 residents have taken their booster shots.