Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia said today, February 8, that he is reviewing the “no BaCTrac, no entry” proposal.
The BaCTrac Contact Tracing System is a web-based and mobile-based app developed for efficient contact tracing of confirmed COVID-19 positive patients in the city and, consequently, allows the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Task Force to easily locate people suspected of having contact with COVID-19 patients.
The EOC is proposing that persons without BaCTrac cards, including those from out of town, will be refused entry into all business establishments, including restaurants and hotels in Bacolod, starting March 1, the mayor said.
Some establishments use logbooks for those entering business establishments instead of the BaCTrac system, which under the EO proposal will no longer be allowed.
Leonardia said the EOC proposal will require an amendment to the COVID-19 Contact Tracing System Ordinance of Bacolod City.
Meanwhile, an executive order that will allow drinking of alcohol in restaurants, hotels and other eateries from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. is being finalized by the City Legal Office, Leonardia said.
We have agreed in principle with the business community that this will be allowed but the EO is still being finalized, he said.
Guidelines of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) state that the operation of beerhouses, bars and other similar establishments are still prohibited under the Modified General Community Quarantine, the mayor pointed out.
Drinking of liquor on the side of the road and in ally’s in the barangays will not be allowed, the mayor also said.
Leonardia said they did not agree to the lifting of the curfew.
“If we do away with curfew there will be no more reminder that we are in a pandemic,” Leonardia said.*