CAGAYAN de Oro was among the three cities outside Metro Manila that were tagged as areas of concerns by the Octa Research Group due to their alarming spike in Covid-19 cases.
But Mayor Oscar Moreno said the concerning increase in the Covid-19 cases is "no reason to raise the white flag," emphasizing the need for the public's cooperation in the fight against the virus.
"We had been mentioned sa Octa, this is a UP-based research group together with Puerto Princesa and Bacolod as areas of concerned outside of Metro Manila because of our rising cases which incidentally we had been reporting daily since April," Moreno said.
"In the course of the interview, nag ingon man tong taga Octa Research nga 'itong mga LGUs have the capacity to manage the situation,'" he added.
Cagayan de Oro, over the weekend, recorded 128 new local cases, causing the number of active cases to increase to 749. The city also registered a decline in the recovery rate to 81.98 percent.
"Kinahanglan ang katawhan mouban sa ato niining pakigkombati kontra sa virus and please let us cooperate, let us collaborate, we can defeat the virus ato lang ni ng i-suppress ang pag spread and then ang vaccination atong atimanon," Moreno said.
The mayor added that the public's cooperation in the contact tracing is needed, as wrong information will lead to wrong decision and more infections.
Moreno also said that there is a need to augment the city's isolation unit (CIU) and temporary treatment and monitoring facility (TTMF) in order to respond to the needs of Covid-19 patients.
"The only way to avoid a lockdown is siguraduhon nato atong contact tracing, atong profiling, atong risk assessment and then ang CIU and TTMF," Moreno said.
"As much as possible, we are doing everything we can to manage the situation effectively and efficiently together with NMMC (Northern Mindanao Medical Center) and all the hospitals in the city," he added.
Moreno also mentioned the risks of having stricter quarantine coverage in the Cagayan de Oro, saying there will have to be some adjustments if the city will be put under the general community quarantine.
Moreno also believed that a lockdown is still not necessary.
"We are relying heavily on the measures that we are putting in place to combat the virus," he said.
"Rest assured nga kami naningkamot to address this as effectively as we can," he added.