No Delta variant case in Pasay City
PASAY City Mayor Emi Calixto-Rubiano on Thursday said the city government is doing everything to maintain the number of coronavirus cases to the barest minimum while also protecting its borders from the possible entry of Delta variant.
In a Zoom interview, Mayor Emi said they are protecting their residents by conducting an intensified information, communication and educational campaign about the dangers of the new variant and the steps on how to avoid contracting it.
Despite the slight rise in cases, Pasay still has one of the lowest number of active cases at 80 in Metro Manila, and the city hall is working double time to further bring it down as much as possible.
Their current contact tracing ratio is currently at 1:22 which is well within the recommended 1:15 or more ratio.
“Right now, Pasay City still has zero DELTA variant cases. But even before the declaration of the community transmission of the said variant in the country, we have already met with our barangay officials, COVID team and our health officials to prepare and if possible prevent its entry in the city,” Mayor Emi said.
According to Mayor Emi, they added the number of isolation facilities and COVID-19 beds as well as stockpiled on oxygen to prepare for a possible surge, and impose stricter border measures in the localities.
The mayor was reacting on an earlier Department of Health (DOH) report that said Pasay City showed an increased two-week growth rate of Covid-19 cases, and its average daily attack rate qualifies as high-risk.
Mayor Emi also explained that the increase in the cases came from people who temporarily moved to the city prior to their intended destinations.
“Base po sa mga ulat na natatanggap ng aking tanggapan ay karamihan po sa nagpositibo ay mga dayo sa ating lugar na nagpa-swab test bago tumungo sa kanilang mga lugar subalit sa kasamaang-palad ay nagpositibo sila,” Mayor Emi said, adding: “Siyempre po dahil dito sa Pasay nagpositibo kaya ditto sa atin mkabibilang iyon.”
“If we analyze our growth rate and ADAR using our own data, we can see that currently, we are at medium risk. That’s why we are now implementing stricter measures and tightening our watch in our borders,” Mayor Emi ponted out.
To prevent the entry of the variant, Mayor Emi said they are conducting regular consultation meetings with barangay officials regarding border controls and implementation of strict quarantine protocols.
They also conducted town hall meeting with Dr. Anna Ong Lim, a member of IATF technical advisory group and sought her recommendations even as PCGH has been preparing its isolation facilities and stockpiling on oxygen for use in the event of a surge in cases.
Mayor Emi also instructed local authorities especially the police to intensify their campaign and arrest minimum health protocol violators as she reminded reminded the residents that their vaccination sites are open Monday to Sunday.
The mayor pointed out that they will continue with the implementation of granular lockdowns which were proven effective in containing the cases, and are now being adopted also in other cities.
