Cagayan de Oro imposes vax card rule again as COVID-19 cases continue to climb

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines – Cagayan de Oro Mayor Rolando Uy has ordered establishments to start requiring people to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination again as the number of documented infections continued to rise.

Cagayan de Oro also saw three new COVID-19-related deaths in just two days this week, prompting authorities to impose stricter public health protocols.

Until this month, the city has been registering single-digit and, at times, no new COVID-19 infection in a day, allowing the local government to ease public health restrictions under the least strict Alert Level 1 category set by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF).

Uy’s order obliges malls, restaurants, and similar establishments in the city to demand vaccination cards from their customers before entry starting next week – the way they did during the months when Cagayan de Oro’s hospitals and public health system were overwhelmed due to surges in infections.

The order came days after Uy skipped a news conference the city hall organized about the city’s COVID-19 situation to receive contestants of the Search for Miss Cagayan de Oro and event organizers. It was supposed to be his first news conference since assuming the mayoral post on June 30.

Uy said the level of public complacency amid the ongoing COVID-19 threat was disturbing.

“I learned about how Kagay-anons have become complacent and stopped observing even the minimum health protocols,” Uy said.

The Cagayan de Oro City Health Office (CHO) reported three COVID-19-related deaths from July 19 to July 21, bringing the city’s death toll to 944 since the virus crippled the local economy and brought it to its knees two years ago.

The CHO also documented 56 active cases of COVID-19 infections as of Thursday, July 21.

Dr. Rachel Dilla, Cagayan de Oro’s new city health officer, said the local government may consider requiring only the fully vaccinated to take part in major events and merrymakings, including this year’s Search for Miss Cagayan de Oro, leading to Cagayan de Oro’s annual fiesta on August 28.

In a July 15 report, the CHO said 581,439 residents have so far received their first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, or 96.14% of the city’s target population of 604,953. Of the target, 555,972 residents, or 91.90%, have received their second doses.

Dr. Ina Grace Chiu, who heads the CHO’s COVID-19 vaccination team, said the city hall needs to ramp up its campaign to give residents vaccine booster shots. Only 147,555 have been boosted as of July 15. – Rappler.com