CITY Administrator and Emergency Operations Center Task Force (EOC-TF) Executive Director Em Ang described the sudden increase in several deaths due to coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in Bacolod City last month as alarming.

Some 168 residents in Bacolod City died due to Covid-19 from September 1 to 30, 2021, records from the EOC showed.

Ang, who is also the Covid-19 Vaccination Council (CoVaC) coordinator, said in a statement that of the 168 deaths, 140 were unvaccinated.

She said this number is more than double the recorded fatalities in September last year with only 76 deaths.

"We are averaging at 109 infections daily and unvaccinated patients are mostly those who developed severe Covid-19 illness," Ang said.

EOC Hospital Capacity Utilization Rate (CUR) records showed that as of September 30, 58 unvaccinated coronavirus-positive individuals developed severe illness upon contracting the virus.

Ang said they were all brought to the hospitals for intensive care treatment.

For his part, Dr. Edwin Miraflor Jr., officer-in-charge of the City Health Office (CHO), said the rampant spread of Covid-19 was observed in areas with low vaccination rates.

"Despite the round-the-clock vaccination efforts of the city government, many residents are still hesitant to get vaccinated due to their vulnerability to fake news about Covid-19 vaccines, which they read on various social media platforms," he said.

The EOC-TF also lamented the false belief of many residents regarding the existence of Covid-19 this "despite the congested wards in both the government and private hospitals in Bacolod City."

Miraflor said this false information and beliefs led to poor compliance with the minimum health protocols.

The EOC-TF and the CoVaC encourage Bacolod residents to get vaccinated, to achieve herd immunity.

Various initiatives have been adopted to beef up Bacolod's vaccination campaign, including the mobile vaccination (VAX-i), drive-thru vaccination, and mall-based administration of Covid jabs, among others.