ILOILO – This province’s daily new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases are now averaging in double digits, according to the Iloilo Provincial Health Office (IPHO).
Dr. Maria Socorro Colmenares-Quiñon, provincial health officer, is worried.
“Please hold on to your masks. Do not go out without them,” she said.
From June 12 to June 25, 2022, the daily new COVID-19 cases in the province were 11.9 (equivalent to 167 cases in just two weeks).
This was higher than the 2.5 daily average for new cases from May 29 to June 11 (total of 35 cases).
For comparison, here’s the daily average new COVID-19 cases in the province per month since January this year:
* January – 195
* February – 116
* March – 20
* April – six
* May – two
“Aside from wearing facemask, don’t forget to practice hand-washing and physical distancing,” said Quiñon.
Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. himself said he is not amenable to ditching the wearing of facemask as a COVID-19 health safety measure.
“That is our position. This is not the right time to remove the facemask from the equation. Nga-a? Ti, ara pa ang problema. Subong ginabantayan ta kay nagasaka kita ,” said Defensor.
The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID) itself, he said, still recommends the wearing of facemask.
Iloilo’s COVID-19 health measures must be aligned with the taskforce, stressed Defensor.
Quiñon further appealed to unvaccinated individuals to have themselves vaccinated against coronavirus in rural health centers.
The provincial government also has daily vaccination at Robinsons Place Pavia in Pavia, Iloilo from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday to Friday, and at the provincial capitol lobby during office hours.
As of June 29, already 1,251,421 individuals or 74.29 percent of the 1,684,570 target population were deemed fully vaccinated.
Iloilo currently has 329 active COVID-19 cases. The death toll since the pandemic started in 2020, on the other hand, is at 1,468.
Quiñon said some people’s inconsistent observance of the health protocols may have contributed to the rise in the province’s COVID-19 cases./PN