THE City Government of Bacolod is still awaiting the decision of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) to whether downgrade the city's community quarantine status from general community quarantine (GCQ) to modified GCQ.

Vice Mayor El Cid Familairan, chairperson of the Bacolod City Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF), said Tuesday, October 20, that they are still waiting for the approval of the IATF.

"But for me, we are ready for the MGCQ because our coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases have already reduced. Let's wait for the decision of the NIATF," he said.

Mayor Evelio Leoardia earlier requested the IATF to de-escalate the community quarantine status of Bacolod City from GCQ to MGCQ effective October 16, 2020.

In his letter dated October 15 and addressed to Department of Health Secretary Francisco Duque, chairman of IATF on Emerging Infectious Diseases, Leonardia said the Covid-19 interventions that they have undertaken under a centralized system at the Emergency Operations Center (EOC), with the guidance and close supervision of IATF Chief Implementer for Visayas Melquiades Feliciano, have resulted in a continuous decline of Covid-19 cases in Bacolod City during the last two weeks.

He said as of October 15, there were 591 active Covid-19 cases and 4,491 accumulated cases in Bacolod City. The recoveries have reached 3,937 or 85.29 percent, which correlates to good management and treatment of Covid-19 cases. There were only five deaths for October while there were 64 deaths in September.

Based on the local government unit (LGU) risk matrix, the two-week growth rate of Covid-19 cases is -58 percent, which is considered low, while the average daily attack rate is down to 5.32 percent from 11 percent weeks ago.

Moreover, Familiaran also urged all the business establishment owners in the city to remind their customers to observe the health protocols inside their stores.

"They should remind their customers to observe the social distancing and wearing of face masks inside their stores to prevent the spread of Covid-19. We need the cooperation of everybody here because our quarantine status also depends on our cooperation so we can go back to our normal life," Familiaran said.