ASIDE from the city’s doctors and medical personnel, the barangay officials play a crucial role in Cagayan de Oro City’s Covid-19 response which had so far resulted in an ongoing decline of cases due to aggressive vaccination and enforcement of health protocols, top City Hall officials said.
“Ang pandemic moingon nga naa frontline o ang pinaka duol nga local government mao ang barangay. Daghan sa atong mga ka-igsuonan di kaila sa ilang barangay (chairman) og barangay kagawad og asa man ilang barangay hall which is their City Hall. So ang pandemic nagtudlo nga sa serbisyo dili lang ta mohangad kang Mayor Oscar Moreno, Vice Mayor ‘KIkang’ Uy o sa City Council kon dili naa diha ilang barangay,” said Oliver Egypto, chief of the Office of Community Affairs.
Egypto said this amid Cagayan de Oro City’s sustained improvement in health data as evidenced by the decline in health risk indicators to way below 50 percent. As of Feb. 21, the City Health Office (CHO) reported that the city’s average daily attack rate (ADAR) went down to four percent while its two-week growth rate (2TWG) to negative 85 percent.
The Department of Health (DOH) set a maximum ceiling of seven percent for ADAR and 200 percent for 2TWG for local governments across the country.
Should a local government exceed these percentages in their ADAR and 2TWG, they are classified as high risk and will be placed on either Alert Level 3 or Alert Level 4. Cagayan de Oro City is on Alert Level 2 from Feb. 15 to Feb. 28.
Egypto, also concurrent chairman of City Hall’s Emergency Operations Cluster (EOC), said barangays are the most visible and accessible source of services under ‘health governance’ which constitutes a local government’s comprehensive response to the pandemic.
“As we’ve seen in the past two years, ‘health is wealth’ and what’s the use of one’s financial wealth if it’s depleted (due to medical expenses). So as to when the country will eventually be placed under the ‘new normal,’ it’s a challenge not only for us at City Hall but also to the barangays and the people of Cagayan de Oro City, to respond collectively and work together (to defeat the virus),” Egypto said.
CHO medical officer Dr. Ted Yu Jr. also echoed this point, saying that while the health risk indicators are encouraging, the city should sustain its momentum and keep its cases down through vaccination and compliance to health protocols amid the election season. (Stephen Capillas of City Information Office)
