ZAMBOANGA City Mayor Maria Isabelle Climaco-Salazar has postponed her State of the City Address (Soca) due to the unprecedented surge in the number of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases in Zamboanga City.

Salazar was scheduled to deliver her last Soca Monday, January 24, before the City Council but was postponed to a later date.

Salazar did not announce when her last Soca was rescheduled.

“Due to the unprecedented surge in the number of Covid-19 cases in Zamboanga City and the infection of some personnel of the City Government who are directly involved in the preparations for the State of the city address of the mayor, we would like to inform the public that Soca 2022 scheduled on Monday, January 24, will be postponed to a later date,” the City Government posted Sunday, January 23, on its Facebook page.

The Soca is the venue where the mayor will present her accomplishments the previous year and plans and programs for the current year.

The Zamboanga Task Force Covid-19 data tracker showed that the city had a total of 24,385 confirmed cases of Covid-19 with 21,792 recoveries, 1,473 active cases, and 1,120 deaths, as of January 21.

The data tracker showed that the active cases steadily increased to 1,473 from 85 on January 4.

The City Government reiterated its advice to the public to continue to strictly comply with the minimum public health standards. (SunStar Zamboanga)