CEBU CITY – The provincial government of the neighboring island of Siquijor has declared a community transmission of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) after it reported a new confirmed case late Thursday night.
The confirmed case, an 85-year-old symptomatic female patient admitted at the Siquijor Provincial Hospital, has no history of travel, thus the Siquijor Provincial Task Force Covid-19 declared a local transmission.
Governor Zaldy Villa said he will immediately release an executive order on Friday specifically to limit the movement around the province.
The provincial government is expected to strictly impose the wearing of face mask and face shield in public places; suspend fiesta celebrations and other non-essential gatherings; temporarily suspend classes in all educational institutions; suspend cockfighting activities; and implement curfew from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.
“Intensive contact tracing is being conducted right now. The provincial and municipal authorities are working closely to prevent, trace, isolate and limit the transmission of Covid in Siquijor,” the Provincial Task Force said in a statement.
As of Jan. 21, Siquijor has a total of four active cases of Covid-19, based on data from the Department of Health. Previously, most of Siquijor’s confirmed cases were imported, involving returning locally stranded individuals.
Villa earlier requested the Department of Health to fast- track the establishment of a molecular laboratory for easier accessibility of Covid-19 testing to Siquijor residents.
Speaking during the “Explain, Explain, Explain: Pagdu-aw sa Siquijor” information campaign of the Philippine Information Agency on Wednesday, Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar assured that a molecular laboratory will be established in the province through the efforts of Senator Christopher “Bong” Go as chair of the Senate Committee on Health.
This was echoed by Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas (OPAV) Assistant Secretary Gerald Anthony Gonzales, who also assured Siquijodnons of OPAV Secretary Michael Dino’s full commitment to help improve the lives of those affected by the Covid-19 crisis.
The “Pagdu-aw” advocacy campaign aims to inform, educate, and communicate the Philippine National Vaccination Roadmap amid the proliferation of fake news regarding the vaccine cost, efficacy, and safety.
Andanar has announced that the government is set to roll out the National Covid-19 Vaccination Program by the third or fourth week of February, in major cities with high attack rates such as Metro Manila, Metro Cebu and Davao City, targeting to vaccinate at least two million people by April.
Andanar said the government is already in the Phase 3 of the National Action Plan in the continued fight against Covid-19, which includes three key strategies namely Response, Vaccination, and Recovery.
The focus of Response is P.D.I.T.R.M. which means Prevent, Detect, Isolate, Treat, Reintegrate and Mainstream the new normal.
The Vaccination stage has four phases: Assess, Plan, Prepare, and Execute.
For Recovery, the plan’s main objective is to lessen the Covid-19 transmission while slowly opening the economy and recovering from economic losses. (PNA)
