SUMMARY
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ILOILO City, Philippines – All provinces and highly-developed cities in Western Visayas (Region 6) remain under Alert Level 2 until January 15, according to the Department of Health-Western Visayas Center for Health Development (DOH-WV CHD).
Despite relatively low rates of infection in the region since the New Year, various local governments on Monday, January 3, said they are planning preventive measures, including new travel restrictions.
Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas confirmed the city’s COVID Team met on Monday to discuss their response to the surge in Manila.
Treñas’ Facebook page put out an advisory saying that the city is ready to test travelers anew. An executive order is expected to be released on Tuesday, January 4, outlining the new travel rules.
The mayor told Rappler that there will be no exceptions to the new testing requirements, and even fully-vaccinated travelers will have to get RT-PCR tests.
They can get tested either prior to their trip to the city, or upon their arrival, free of charge, the mayor said.
The regional DOH office confirmed 17 new COVID cases in the first weekend of 2022.
Two new infections come from Iloilo province, four from Iloilo City, five from Bacolod City, and six from Negros Occidental. Aklan, Antique, Capiz, and Guimaras provinces did not confirm any new cases in the first weekend of 2022.
The DOH-WV CHD’s situational report on January 2 listed almost all of the areas as “minimal risk” based on cases from December 17 to 30, except for Aklan, which is at low risk after logging 13 cases in the same period compared to only 6 cases from December 3 to 16.
In Iloilo province, OIC provincial administrator Dennis Ventilacion told Rappler that the health cluster would meet on Tuesday, January 4, to decide on their response.
Restrictions
Ventilacion said he expects Governor Arthur Defensor Jr. to also issue restrictions for travel to and within the province.
“The consensus right now is that we will have heightened restrictions to limit the movement of persons so we can prepare for a possible [COVID] surge. There is a possibility that we will also be requiring RT-PCR testing, but that will depend on the Governor’s executive order, although he [Defensor] is seriously considering it,” Ventilacion said in a phone interview.
Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson also told reporters on Monday that while numbers are still low, the provincial government is likewise considering reimposing strict border controls due to the Omicron threat.
“The numbers are good, but this is before Omicron. We will see what happens,” Lacson told the media.
Negros Occidental has the lowest coverage rate for COVID-19 vaccinations in the region and is hobbled by the widespread destruction in towns and cities caused by Typhoon Odette. – Rappler.com
Joseph B.A. Marzan is a Visayas-based journalist and an awardee of the Aries Rufo Fellowship
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