ILOILO City Mayor Jerry Treñas urged local government units (LGUs) in Western Visayas to adopt the initiative of Bacolod City and Negros Occidental in controlling the spread of coronavirus disease (Covid-19).

In the Facebook page of Bacolod City Public Information, Treñas, in a Zoom meeting with the Western Visayas executives Monday, August 23, 2021, sought the assistance of City Administrator Em Ang, who represented Mayor Evelio Leonardia, regarding the City’s formula in sustaining the steady decline of Covid-19 infections in the LGU.

Treñas said the Provinces of Guimaras and Antique may already be under critical level-4 in their fight against Covid-19, which they already have 11 confirmed Covid-19 Delta variant cases as of Monday.

He said the situation may be more challenging in the coming days as the City sent 104 additional samples to the Department of Health (DOH) for confirmation whether they are also positive for the Delta variant.

“Let us ask Bacolod City ad Negros Occidental why their Covid-19 cases are on the decline, let us adopt what they are doing,” he added.

Ang, who is also the executive director of Emergency Operations Center-Task Force and coordinator of the Covid-19 Vaccination Council, said the City Government strengthened the compliance of minimum health protocols, monitoring of workplaces such as the business process outsourcing, casino and banks, and discouraged mass gatherings, as well as implemented a combination of vaccination programs.

She said Bacolod City also recorded four Delta variant cases, but the patients have fully recovered.

As of August 22, 2021, Bacolod City had a total of 16,259 Covid-19 cases. Of the number, 15,040 patients already recovered, 839 were active cases and 377 were deaths.