Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia cited the steady decline of COVID-19 infections in the city during the last two weeks, but appealed to the public not to let their guard down because COVID spread is difficult to predict.

“While we welcome the decline at a time when cases are surging in other areas, we should not let our guard down because the pattern of COVID infections is unpredictable. It’s been a roller coaster ride with COVID since early last year,” Leonardia said yesterday.

Real-time data provided by City Administrator Em Ang, executive director of the city government’s Emergency Operations Center, showed only two-digit new cases in the last 14 days, averaging 36 cases per day.

In June this year, however, the LGU was registering three-digit new cases daily, averaging 119 per day. New cases slipped to only 73 daily in July, Ang explained.

This development came as Bacolod City’s vaccination campaign received an added shot in the arm from the National Inter-Agency Task Force which allocated 15,000 doses of the US-made Moderna vaccines through Secretary Carlito Galvez.

The city government had been relentless in its efforts to generate all the support it can get from the national government, shared Ang, adding that the mayor constantly communicates not only with the NIATF but also with the Office of the President, among others,  to make sure that Bacolod’s needs are being catered to.

Since the declaration of the pandemic, Ang recalled, COVID cases peaked at 15,978 with recoveries booked at 15,124 or a recovery rate of 94.66 percent.

As of Wednesday this week, Bacolod only has 467 active  cases, she said.

In June this year, however, the city had 1,934 active cases in June and 913  in July 2021, said Ang, who is also the COVID Vaccination Council coordinator.

Ang reiterated that under the general community quarantine with heightened restrictions status, people are being discouraged to attend mass gatherings that could be super spreaders./WDJ