This Week in Boracay and Iloilo (August 2 to 8, 2020)

Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas put 200 houses on lockdown in Barangay Bo Obrero in Lapuz district starting July 22 after a resident died from COVID-19. Residents were also subjected to the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test. Until negative results are confirmed, everyone in the barangay is prohibited to go out of their houses. According to James Conlu, a village councilman of Barangay Bo Obrero, there are five confirmed COVID-19 cases in the village as of July 27 [1].

Malay Town Mayor Floribar Bautista adjusted Boracay curfew hours to 11:00 PM to 4:00 AM. This shortens the curfew, which was originally from 9:00 PM to 5:00 AM. The hours were adjusted after the Department of Tourism allowed Western Visayas tourists below 21 years old and above 60 years old to visit the world-famous island.

Meanwhile, Bautista noted that Boracay’s economy is slowly recovering now that island activities and accommodations resumed operations. The town of Malay and Boracay Island is COVID-free as of July 23, 2020 [2].

The suspension of travel between Iloilo and Bacolod was implemented last July 27 after cases of COVID-19 in Bacolod City increased. The Regional Inter-Agency Task Force and the COVID-19 Team of Iloilo City both agreed to close borders as part of the proactive measures to protect Ilonggos. However, the shipment of goods and cargo will still continue. This was not the first time that travel between Bacolod and Iloilo was suspended [3].

Jail Superintendent Gilbert Peremne, the deputy director for administration of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) in Western Visayas, outlined health safety protocols for jail visitors. The protocols were made to maintain the safety of inmates in prisons, especially since there are still no confirmed COVID-19 cases among the 38 jails in the region. Jail visitors must pass safety protocol checks and should hand over a certification that they are free from COVID-19. Aside from wearing face masks and observing physical distancing, visitors and inmates should have an isolation area where they could meet. These areas must have plastic barriers and must be far from the inmates’ cells [4].

West Visayas State University Medical Center (WVSUMC), a government-run hospital in Iloilo City, temporarily shut down its outpatient department (OPD) after a 53-year old healthcare worker contracted the coronavirus disease. The WVSUMC did not disclose the circumstances and when the OPD will reopen. The hospital also swabbed other workers who were deemed at risk, and they are now isolated and monitored [5].

Go to Yoorekka for more COVID-19 updates in Boracay and Iloilo.