Iloilo City has been placed under Alert Level 3, but so far Bacolod City and Negros Occidental remain under Alert Level 2, Presidential Spokesman Karlo Nograles said Friday, January 7.
A seafarer who arrived in Iloilo City on December 24 was home quarantined and tested positive on December 27 for the COVID-19 Omicron variant.
Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas said while under Alert Level 3 “we will make use of this time to stay at home as much as possible, maintain strictly the minimum health protocols, no mass gatherings and reduce capacities in our work places and businesses.”
Nograles, in a press briefing, said the National Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases placed Iloilo City and 13 other areas in the country under Alert Level 3 starting Sunday, January 9 to 15.
Other areas added to the Alert Level 3 list are Baguio City, Dagupan City, Santiago City, Cagayan, Angeles City, Bataan, Ologapo City, Pampanga, Zambales, Batangas, Lucena City, Naga City, and Lapu-Lapu City.
Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Rizal and Laguna were also placed under Alert Level 3 earlier.
Em Ang, Emergency Operations Center executive director, said the NIATF classification for Bacolod remains at Alert Level 2 even if the Department of Health in Western Visayas on Thursday, January 6, put it under Alert Level 3 with a moderate risk classification.
Negros Occidental remained under Alert Level 2 with a minimal risk classification, the DOH added.*