A longer curfew and a total liquor ban for two weeks are among the measures being considered to curb the current surge in COVID-19 cases in Bacolod City, Mayor Evelio Leonardia said.
Bacolod City officials led by Leonardia held a virtual meeting with the business community Friday, June 4, that was also attended by Philippine Society for Microbiology and Infectious Diseases doctors who called for a two week-business slowdown.
The doctors are asking for a two-week business slowdown because the lifespan of the virus on those infected is two weeks, Leonardia said.
Frank Carbon, Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive officer, said a slowdown is tantamount to a lockdown that the business community cannot afford anymore. People will go hungry, he said.
The city government should focus its efforts on curbing mass gatherings at weddings, baptisms, funerals and parties, and gambling and drinking activities, that are super spreaders for COVID-19, he said.
“In fact we agreed to a total liquor ban and curfew from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m., instead of from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m.,” Carbon said.
Leonardia said he is calling a meeting of city officials Saturday, June 5, to assess and evaluate the inputs of the doctors and the business community and come up with a decision.
“We will try to find a healthy balance between the economy and health,” he said.
Meanwhile, the City Health Office compound has been hit with 43 COVID-19 cases, Dr. Chris Sorongon, Bacolod Emergency Operations Center deputy for medical data and analysis, said.
The COVID-19 bed occupancy in the seven hospitals in Bacolod City on Thursday, June 3, was 87.25 percent, he also said.
Of the 215 functional COVID-19 beds only 27 were still available, of which 23 are regular beds and four are Intensive Care Unit beds, Sorongon said.*