The Naga City government has declared 25 of the 27 barangays in the city under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) during weekends and those with clustered community transmission under granular lockdown.

Executive Order (EO) No. 2021-026 issued by Mayor Nelson S. Legacion on Tuesday, Sept. 21, states that the severity of Covid-19 cases in the city has turned for the worse with many more patients requiring oxygen support resulting in a very high utilization rate of Covid-19 beds in public and private hospitals, as well as oxygen-supported mild to moderate cases in the quarantine and isolation facilities of the city government.

Renne Gumba, Health Emergency Response Task Force (HERTF) co-chairman, said the drastic intervention is being pursued after they have observed that Covid-19 cases were in upward trend despite the implementation of general community quarantine with heightened restrictions in the city for more than a month now.

Gumba said the HERTF recommended the implementation of the periodic or weekend ECQ as one of the major interventions to restrict movement of people that is seen to lessen Covid-19 transmission. It is also believed to lessen the number of people from neighboring towns and areas entering the city to engage in non-essential activities during weekends.

Except for the two barangays of Panicuason and Bagumbayan Norte where cases of Covid-19 are low, the rest of the 27 barangays in the city are covered by the weekend lockdown.

Legacion said the weekend ECQ will take effect at 9:00 PM every Friday and will end at 4:00 AM on the following Monday. During this period, the covered barangays will be subject to the restrictions imposed by the national inter-agency task force (IATF) for areas under ECQ.

The first weekend ECQ will start at 9:00 PM on Friday, Sept. 24. At the end of each weekend ECQ, the covered barangays will revert back to the community quarantine classification imposed on the city by the national IATF.

“It [weekend ECQ] shall remain in force until a considerable improvement in the city’s campaign against Covid-19 transmission is realized based on the metrics of the HERTF and DOH,” Legacion said.

The EO adopted as its part the restrictions imposed by the Omnibus Guidelines on the Implementation of Community Quarantine in the Philippines, which shall be the governing rule during the weekend ECQ.

Persons 18 to 65 years old will be allowed to go out of their houses only when they have to access essential goods and services from permitted establishments, for work in such establishments, and for the performance of health and emergency services with no age restrictions for availing the same.

To further mitigate community transmission, Legacion further ordered the imposition of a 14-day granular lockdown in areas defined and recommended by the HERTF to have clustered cases of Covid-19 following the criteria set by the HERTF Analytics Team.

No one, including Authorized Persons Outside Residences (APOR), shall be allowed to move within, into, and out of the area under granular lockdown except:

• Health Care Workers, and non-health personnel working in hospitals, laboratories, and dialysis facilities;
• Uniformed personnel and barangay tanods tasked to enforce the granular lockdown;
• Overseas Filipino Workers bound for international travel, and those returning to their respective residences after having completed facility-based quarantine upon arrival;
• Individuals whose home or residence are located within an area under granular lockdown may enter the said area for the sole purpose of returning to their respective homes or residences but must thereafter remain therein for the duration of the granular lockdown;
• Individuals under exceptional circumstances such as, but not limited to, those seeking urgent medical attention as validated by the Punong Barangay; and
• Food and essential items that are intended for delivery within an area under granular lockdown provided that they can only be unloaded at border collection points designated by the LGU.

People in areas under granular lockdown will not be permitted to leave quarantined premises for 14-days including authorized persons outside of residence and medical frontliners.

These measures are adopted to prevent and limit the spread of Covid-19 in the city. Naga City recorded 690 cases in a span of 10 days – or an average of 60 cases every day – from Sept. 10 to 19, this year.

Business leaders in the city have met with Legacion and the members of the Sangguniang Panlungsod to discuss possible means to cushion any negative repercussions the weekend ECQ may bring to the local economy.

In a brief meeting with Legacion, Engr. Armando Aman, president of Metro Naga Chamber of Commerce and Industry and other business leaders in the city assured Legacion of their support, saying that the action is a welcome development that deserves to be supported.

Violation of the EO shall be deemed as non-cooperation of the person or entities affected by a notifiable disease or a health event of public health concern subject to prosecution under RA 11332, or under applicable ordinances.

Nagpaluwas ngonian nin bagong panundon si Alkalde Nelson Legacion sa pagpapaotob kan general community quarantine (GCQ) with heightened restrictions sa laog kan syudad nin Naga. An aksyon piggibo katakod kan padagos na pagsakat kan numero nin mga taong nagkakaigwa nin Covid-19 infection (average of 48 cases daily sa laog nin sarong semana).

Huli kan sitwasyon ngonian kan syudad, isinakat sa Alert Level 4 an kamugtakan kan Naga base sa tolong rason:

• Halangkaw na numero kan mga taong naolakitan nin virus

• Halangkaw na numero kan pig-ookopar na higdaan sa treatment facility kan mga Covid-positive patients, asin;

• Halangkaw na numero kan mga intensive care units na okopado nin mga Covid-19 positive.

An mga reglas na kaipuhan otobon poon ngonian na aldaw, Setyembre 16, susog sa bagong panundon:

Siisay an tutugotan na magluwas nin harong?

• Tao na yaon sa edad 18 anyos alagad dae masobra 59 anyos pigtutugotan na maglaog sa mga establisemyento tanganing magbakal nin mga essential goods and services o matrabaho.
• Aki na igwang edad 17 anyos asin pababa na kaipuhan an serbisyo mediko o huli ta yon sa sitwasyon nin emergency.
• Senior citizen na nagresibe na nin kumpletong bakuna (fully vaccinated) na nangangaipuhan nin essential goods and services.

Klarado sa bagong panundon an mga dae pigtutugot na tiripon nin tao, mga establisemyento, aktibidades, asin serbisyo na limitado sana an pag-operar, an mga ipinagtutugot na aktibidad alagad igwa nin mga kaipuhan sundon na reglamento, asin an mga kahagadan para matawan nin Safety Seal Certification kaibahan na an mga pribilehiyo kaini.

Malinaw man sa guidelines an palakaw kan syudad sa mga taong boot maglaog asin magluwas sa Naga bilang APOR o bakong APOR, an mga tao asin negosyo na hagop kan general curfew na estriktong ipapaotob poon 9:00 nin banggi sagkod nang alas 4:00 nin aga.

Asin an orog kaimportante: an padusa sa siisay man na naglapas o nakakomitir nin violation sa mga panundon.

The Naga City Health Emergency Response Task Force (HERTF) has called on the Nagueños to seriously abide by the health and safety protocols like the ones being implemented in the provinces of Cebu and Iloilo where Delta variant of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) was detected.

The approach aims to alert the public and encourage them to be more vigilant against the possible onslaught of the new covid-19 variant “although not even a single case of Delta variant is detected yet by health authorities in the city.”

“In that way [by presuming that Delta variant has already hit the city and the necessary preventive measures should be adopted], we can expect a good compliance of health standards from our constituents to safeguard themselves from Covid-19 infection,” Mayor Nelson Legacion said in a press briefing last Tuesday, August 3.

Dr. Vito Borja, city health officer and HERTF chairperson, said Delta variant is highly contagious and can be transmitted via airborne in 15 seconds. “The public should also avoid gathering in crowded or cramped areas, as infections can still be spread in poorly ventilated areas,” he said.

As he encouraged the public to double the face masks they are wearing and advised parents not to allow their children, especially those who are 18 years old and below, to go out of their houses, Borja also stressed the importance for everyone of getting a vax jab. He said unvaccinated individuals possess higher risk of infection than those who got jabbed.

Public Safety Office chief Renne Gumba said transport vehicles coming in the city from Manila are strictly being checked for compliance of health and safety protocols at the border control in Barangay Mabolo and Barangay Del Rosario by the personnel of the Naga City Police Office and PSO Task Force on Security and Enforcement.

Gumba, who is also the HERTF vice chair, said the public may experience inconveniences by their operation but it can expect a good job in ensuring the security and protection of the community.

Tagged as the “fastest and fittest” among the strains of Covid-19 by the World Health Organization (WHO), the Delta variant is feared for being more infectious than the other strains of covid-19 such as the Alpha (Great Britain), Beta (South Africa), and Gamma (Brazil).

The WHO said that “Delta, which was first identified in India, has the potential to be more lethal because it’s more efficient in the way it transmits between humans and it will eventually find those vulnerable individuals who will become severely ill, have to be hospitalized and potentially die.”

The city mayor along with Borja, Gumba and Allen Reondanga, head of the City Events, Protocol, and Public Information Office (CEPPIO) appeared in a press conference to brief newsmen on LGU’s policy recommendations vis-à-vis the possible onslaught of Delta variant in the city.

Legacion said that no less than 10 inspection and compliance teams are now being organized to speed up the review and evaluation on the issuance of safety seal certifications that are to be awarded to establishments that religiously follow the minimum health standards and came up with approaches that aim to protect their customers and clients from viral infection.

Also under the new policy, the mayor said, starting August 16, this year, senior citizens will only be allowed to go out of their houses to access for essential goods and services on condition that they are fully vaccinated.

In general, people are considered fully vaccinated: 2 weeks after their second dose in a 2-dose series, such as the SinoVac, Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, or 2 weeks after a single-dose vaccine, such as Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine.

The LGU’s campaign to conduct house-to-house inoculation for bedridden senior citizens has resulted in the vaccination of 106 individuals. The team that conducts the vax initiative is spearheaded by Borja who said that they are going to vaccinate 20 more this week before the task finally ends.

Legacion said the HERTF is now doing some assessment on the number of vaccinated individuals under the A2 (senior citizens) and A3 (persons with comorbidity) categories.

He said once they found out that the LGU has already vaccinated not less than 85% of its A2 and A3, then it can now proceed to inoculate those in the A4 category who is compose of workers and frontliners in private and public establishments especially those involved in selling and offering essential products and services.

Borja stressed the urgency and importance of inoculating those in the A4 category due to their constant exposures to different people especially when they are in enclosed premises or air-conditioned rooms where the risk of infection is high.

The LGU is also extending its 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. vaccination hours at the Naga City Mega Vaccination Center in Jesse M. Robredo Coliseum (JMRC) to 8 o’clock in the evening or 5 hours longer with another set of doctors, nurses, vaccinators and support personnel on duty.

Children below 18 years old will not be allowed outside of residence except for accessing medical and emergency services. Plaza Rizal, Plaza Quince Martires and Plaza Quezon shall continue to be off limits to the general public until August 31, this year, unless there’s a need for extension.

The mayor also recommended the establishment of one more vaccination site with its own vaccination team operating alongside the Naga Mega Vaccination Center in JMRC.