The Iloilo City government will give P50,000 reward for each barangay in the city that will be coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-free.

“We will be awarding those barangays without COVID-19 cases for the whole month of December with P50,000,” Mayor Jerry P. Treñas announced yesterday, adding that this is one way to inspire the city barangays to protect their community.

Treñas said COVID-19 cases in the city are declining since the first week of November. And for several days already, the city logged only single-digit cases. The city recorded only eight cases on Thursday, November 26, and only one case as of 12:00 noon on Friday.

“Let us hope that the numbers continue to decline as we celebrate this yuletide season with our families,” said Treñas.

The city mayor made the announcement about the reward following the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases’ recommendation yesterday that the city will remain under general community quarantine for the entire month of December.

As of Nov. 26, based on the Department of Health COVID-19 Regional Case Bulletin No. 244, Iloilo City has 149 active COVID-19 cases left. Of the 4,328 cumulative confirmed cases, 4,144 have already recovered from the infection. However, there were 121 COVID deaths recorded in the city./WDJ