By Nanette Guadalquiver | Philippine News Agency
BACOLOD CITY – Mayor Evelio Leonardia has lifted the liquor ban and further shortened curfew hours as Bacolod shifted to Alert Level 1, the lowest category in the country’s coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) alert level system, starting Tuesday, Mar. 1.
“The city government has shown improvements in its management, control and implementation of health, safety and welfare programs to its constituents, while it always cooperates with the alert level status prescribed from time to time by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID),” Leonardia stated in Executive Order (EO) 9, series of 2022.
According to Section 4, daily curfew hours shall now be observed from midnight to 4:00 a.m., from the previous 11:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m., with exemptions for workers on night shifts, media practitioners, public emergencies such as fire, ambulance services, and other occasions caused by disaster or calamity, and those requiring medical assistance onboard public utility or private vehicles.
Section 5 provided that the liquor ban is lifted while the city stays under Alert Level 1.
Previously, the selling of liquor, wine, beer, or any alcoholic or intoxicating beverage in public places and the selling and consumption of such alcoholic beverages in authorized public places were allowed only from noon to 10:00 p.m.
Leonardia credited the people of Bacolod for their support and cooperation in observing the COVID-19 health protocols, adding that being placed in the lowest alert category is a validation that the city is on the right track in managing the COVID-19 pandemic.
The IATF-EID amended guidelines on the nationwide implementation of the alert level system stated that areas under Alert Level 1 will have no restrictions in terms of indoor and outdoor capacities, and everyone can undertake intrazonal and interzonal travel without regard to age and even comorbidities.
On Monday, Feb. 28, Bacolod logged only four new infections, bringing its active cases to 210, data from the Department of Health-Western Visayas (DOH-6) showed.
Based on the DOH-6 figures as of February 28, the city’s COVID-19 vaccination rate has already reached 123.22%, which is equivalent to 581,760 individuals, way beyond the target 472,139 vaccinees. (PNA) – bny
