CAGAYAN de Oro City’s top epidemiologist lamented on Monday the laxity of some commercial establishments and the public at large in their compliance with minimum public health standards.
City Health Office (CHO) epidemiologist Dr. Teodulfo Joselito Retuya Jr made the observation as Cagayan de Oro City Mayor Rolando ‘Klarex’ Uy said on Thursday that the city will retain the use of some hotels as isolation facilities to house the city’s Covid-19 patients.
“I was told by Dr. Retuya there were several Covid-19 cases that came from outside the city,” Uy said during a radio interview.
During Monday morning’s City Hall press briefing on the city’s Covid-19 response, Dr. Retuya said the sustained decline of Covid-19 cases to single digits starting last March until June led residents to be complacent.
“Before we were acknowledged by the national government as one of the best local governments enforcing minimum public health protocols,” he said.
Nowadays the situation is different, Dr. Retuya said.
“If you can tell me there’s still enforcement of minimum public health standards, then you are in another place. Now, you can see people wearing face masks with their noses exposed. I find it lamentable that even the security guards of some malls don’t even check if the people wear face masks correctly or if they carry their vaccination cards,” he said.
CHO data showed that as of 10 pm on July 20, Cagayan de Oro City logged 11 new cases and 15 recoveries, marking the 15th time that the city recorded double-digit cases in July.
While Uy said he was told by CHO officials that the city’s situation “remained manageable,” he reminded them to ramp up their vaccination campaign.
Uy also confirmed that he was told by health officials that the spike in cases can be linked to increasing travel by city residents outside Cagayan de Oro which resulted in their exposure to the virus.
“Now, the authorities only check for the vaccination card and the ticket. The S-Pass, no one checks them anymore except for one time when I went to Cebu via boat…right now, Kagay-anons need to complete their primary doses including booster shots,” Dr. Retuya said. (Stephen Capillas of City Information Office)
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