Mayor Jerry P. Treñas has suspended the conduct of mass gatherings for one week due to the rising cases of coronavirus disease 2019, or COVID-19, in the city for the past three days.

Treñas issued the suspension following the recommendation of the Iloilo City COVID team for the postponement of any mass gathering for one week effective immediately.

“We have seen that cases in the city have increased in the last three days. The city has registered double-digit COVID-19 cases from January 12 to 14 compared to the single digits posted during the same period in December last year,” said Treñas.

Similarly, no dine-in will be allowed in relation to the Dinagyang Food Festival.

The city mayor explained that he has approved the recommendation of the city’s COVID team to focus on the number of cases and ensure that it will not continue to go up.

Treñas is also urging the Ilonggos to continue to be vigilant and follow all the minimum health protocols.

Based on the recorded comparative cases for the months of December and January of the City Health Office (CHO), which they reported to the city mayor, there were 15 positive cases on January 12, 2021. It is 400 percent higher compared to three cases recorded on December 12, 2020.

On January 13, the city also registered 700 percent increase with 16 new positive cases compared to only two cases on the same date last month.

Another 14 new cases were logged on January 14, which posted a 366.6 percent increase compared to three cases recorded on December 14.

As of January 14, the city still has 105 active COVID-19 cases./WDJ