Face masks remain in Oro despite Alert Level 2 status

DESPITE Cagayan de Oro City still under Alert Level 2 until Jan. 15, residents are still mandated to wear their face masks in public, Mayor Oscar Moreno said yesterday.

“The city ordinance requiring city residents and visitors to wear face masks in public still remains in effect (because the pandemic is still with us). Our city police are still reminding people to wear their masks (and our establishments and offices require people to wear face masks and present their vaccination card),” Moreno said during Monday afternoon’s City Hall press briefing.

Moreno said this in response to a question from local media concerning the non-compliance of some city residents to the face mask mandate set by the national government. In its latest daily Covid-19 count, the City Health Office recorded four cases on Jan. 1 or New Year’s Day, two cases last Sunday (Jan. 2), and three cases the following day.

This brings to 24 the number of active local Covid-19 cases as of Jan. 3. From its highest peak of triple-digit Covid-19 cases in August last year, Cagayan de Oro City’s cases slowly went down starting last September to single digits by end of last November to even zero cases last December.

Moreno credited the sharp, gradual decline in cases to City Hall’s aggressive vaccination campaign.

CHO medical officer Dr. Ted Yu confirmed that Cagayan de Oro City crossed the one million vaccination mark as of Jan. 2.

“We held the last vaccination day for 2021 on Dec. 30 and we had a two-day break from Dec. 31 to Jan. 1. But we resumed last Jan. 2 and logged over 2,000 vaccinations on our mall vaccination sites and by our mobile vaccination teams,” Dr. Yu said.

With Cagayan de Oro City expanding its vaccination campaign to accept outsiders for their first, second, and booster shot doses, Moreno said both city residents and visitors should remain vigilant and comply with the face mask mandate in light of Covid-19’s Omicron variant. While reportedly less deadly than the Delta variant, the Omicron variant is said to be more virulent or transmissible.

“We saw how the National Capital Region was placed under Alert Level 3 after it logged over 4,000 cases last month. The face mask is not only for the wearer’s protection but also to protect those around him or her. Ignoring or refusing to wear the face mask is not only risky but also selfish on the part of these people because they’re only thinking of themselves,” Moreno said. (Stephen Capillas of City Information Office)