Bacolod Has 20 New COVID-19 Positive Cases and Negros Occ. Has 19 as of Aug. 24 per DOH 6

Mayor tells brgy. execs to convince constituents to undergo testing
Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia has appealed to barangay captains and kagawads to convince their constituents to be tested for coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Leonardia emphasized to the barangay captains that they have to convince their constituents to participate in the mass testing, which is free of charge courtesy of the national government, because this is one effective way to identify, trace, isolate, and treat carriers of the virus, slow down the spread of this deadly disease, and protect the families in their barangays.

“I beg you all; let’s do our best to convince the people to participate in this mass testing. This is a pre-emptive strike against the virus because, among others, we hope to catch those who feel no symptoms for it but are actually positive. These are the ones who roam around freely and spread the infection or bring it home to their families without even knowing it,” Leonardia explained to the barangay officials during a virtual meeting Sunday.

The mayor made the appeal in light of the scheduled “O-Plan: One-Time, Big-Time Mass Testing” on August 28 to 31, that was initiated by the Provincial Government of Negros Occidental, to cover a testing population of 10,000 – 5,000 of which will be residents of Bacolod and the remaining 5,000 to come from the cities of Silay, Talisay, and Bago, and the town of Murcia.

RT-PCR tests are scheduled on August 28-29 for Bacolod residents. Those from Silay, Talisay, Bago, and Murcia will have their swab tests on August 30-31.

The City Health Office (CHO) will choose the 5,000 Bacolod residents with the help of the barangay captains who will initially identify them according to priority guidelines of the DOH for covid testing.

Joining Sunday’s online meeting with the barangay captains were Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran, chair of the local IATF; Councilor Cindy Rojas, who chairs the Action Team on Non-OFW Returning Residents;

Councilor Renecito Novero, chair of Quarantine Centers Action Team; Councilor Lady Gles Pallen, president of Liga ng mga Barangay; City Health Officer Dr. Ma. Carmela Gensoli, Dr. Grace Tan and Dr. Anna Maria Laarni Pornan, both of the City Health Office (CHO).

Leonardia first agreed to participate in this mass testing dubbed “O-Plan: One-Time, Big-Time Mass Testing” Program in a previous online meeting held Friday (August 21) with former Congressman Albee Benitez and other officials of Negros Occidental.

Benitez conceptualized the program and organized it with the Provincial Government.

Benitez said that the mass testing is designed to identify carriers who are not swabbed or tested because of “slow” or non-proactive testing strategy.

Negros Occidental has the most number of RT-PCR testing laboratories, which makes the conduct of mass testing possible, said Benitez. There are currently five operational laboratories in the province and in Bacolod, which will all be involved to speed up the processing of the swab specimens so the results can be released in 24 to 48 hours.

“At the moment, the doubling time for Negros Occidental and Bacolod City is less than two weeks. So you can imagine that every month, a 200% rate increase will happen in the province,” Benitez said.
He added: “If we don’t do something, that 200% will rise to 300 or 400, then we will have a big problem.”

While waiting for the swab test results which Benitez said they will try to get within 24 to 48 hours, a lockdown in the LGUs participating in this mass testing will be implemented to limit the movement of people from August 28-31. The cities and towns involved will be issuing their own Executive Orders for this lockdown.* (CITY PIO)