IATF Visayas Chief Executive Officer Major General Mel Feliciano is confident that Bacolod’s quarantine status will be downgraded to General Community Quarantine (GCQ) by November 1.
In a media briefing held yesterday Feliciano said he is hopeful that by the end of the month, Bacolod will have a more stable condition.
With all the necessary measures being undertaken, Feliciano added that the city and the province are ready to open up further. He cited the significant drop of COVID cases as reason for this.
However, he emphasized that while the city is ready to re-open, the EOC will remain operational along with the relevant sectors already engaged by it in the battle against COVID.
In terms of hospital admission, Dr. Hector Gayares said that currently only 58.5% of the total 197 beds are currently utilized. Of these, 51 are from Bacolod and 64 are from other towns and cities of the province.
Although these developments are very encouraging, City Administrator Em Ang reiterated that it is important for the general public not to be more complacent and instead to continue to comply with minimum health standards, including the wearing of face masks and face shields. She also reminded those who had pre-existing conditions to limit their movement.
As early as October 15, Mayor Evelio Leonardia had requested the de-escalation of the city’s quarantine status following the decline of positive cases. Bacolod will remain under modified GCQ until end of the month.
Feliciano, however, clarified that although in the past the national IATF released a reclassification status every 15 days, changes in quarantine status are now being resolved on a monthly basis.
Regardless what will be the final quarantine status of Bacolod after October, Leonardia stressed that there must be no room for complacency until the vaccine is out.
