Covid-19 surge in Laguna: No end in sight
COVID-19

Covid-19 surge in Laguna: No end in sight

Sep 6, 2021, 5:17 AM
Opinyon Reportorial Team

Opinyon Reportorial Team

Writer

UNLESS something is done and fast, Laguna could be bracing for a long, dreadful and uncertain situation, as there seems to be no end in sight in the continued rise of Covid-19 cases in the province.

More disheartening was the fact that the new wave of cases is happening despite the reimposition by the national government of the modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) over the province, which, as of press time, has been extended until September 7.

Questionable implementation

With the dismal and unreliable statistics being provided by the provincial health office, some residents are questioning how the local government units including barangays and subdivisions – are effectively implementing the MECQ that was supposed to stem the current wave.

The latest statistics provided by the Provincial Health Office (PHO) last September 1 aren't exactly a confidence-builder.

Data released by the office of Provincial Health Officer Dr. Rene Bagamasbad as of that date showed the province has recorded 67,146 total and 8,495 active Covid-19 cases.

Calamba City still tops the list with 1,767 active cases, followed by the cities of Sta. Rosa (1,036 active cases), San Pedro (1,025 active cases) and Cabuyao (729 active cases).

In San Pedro City alone, worries are high as the City Health Office reported, for the first time since the pandemic began, a four-digit figure in the number of active cases.

By September 3, that number has risen to 1,074 cases, mostly concentrated in the barangays of San Antonio, Pacita 1, Landayan and Maharlika.

No lockdowns?

As usual, San Pedro City’s residents have waited in vain for an announcement of the local government unit on whether granular lockdowns will be implemented in the city.

The city government had earlier expressed its disinclination to impose hard lockdowns as had been done in Metro Manila, with the usual alibi of keeping the delicate balance between controlling the virus and ensuring the economic stability of workers who will most likely be affected by the pandemic.

However, a letter purporting to be coming from the Chief of Police of San Pedro City is now making the rounds on social media, on which he recommended placing specific streets in the barangays of San Antonio, Pacita I and Landayan under "special concern areas."

The memo, netizens have noticed, specifically declined to call the move a "granular lockdown."

An online survey conducted by OpinYon Laguna also showed that majority of the city’s residents are in favor of imposing granular lockdowns in areas in the city with a high risk of Covid-19.

Some of San Pedro’s netizens, on the other hand, put the blame on the city government’s decision to send people out to receive their cash aid, in contrast to the “house-to-house” distribution of other LGUs in Laguna province.

“Dapat ang managot sa pagpapagamot ng mga nagka-Covid after ng ayuda ay ‘yung nagpalabas sa mga tao para pumila sa ayuda. Then ngayon, ang paparusahan ay yun mga tao na kung saan tumaas ang Covid cases? Kung ila-lockdown sila, dapat sagutin ng LGU ang Pang araw araw na pangangailangan ng mga taong maaapektuhan,” netizen Mira Zeder wrote in a group page.

Problems

Another key question regarding the implementation of lockdowns is, how exactly are local officials ensuring that everyone inside their barangays is strictly following the health protocols?

In Biñan City, for instance, the local government has implemented localized lockdowns in some barangays, which some residents say accounted for the low tally of Covid-19 cases in the city (568 active cases as of September 1.)

But sometimes, in the mad rush of policymaking, local officials didn’t seem to notice what was really happening on the ground.

In Barangay San Antonio, for example, residents were stunned when they were advised that their entire barangay will be placed under “granular lockdown” for a week – on the night before the supposed lockdown took effect.

According to an employee of OpinYon who lives in the area, this gave residents very little time to prepare for the lockdown, which had meant that all stores in the area will be closed.

“May mga nagreklamo po, hindi po sila nakapamili ng kanilang mga kakailanganin sa panahon ng lockdown. Paano po sila makakapag-prepare kung sarado po lahat ng tindahan kinabukasan? Sure, pwede naman po silang pumunta sa palengke [ng Biñan], pero sa limitadong araw lang,” she told OpinYon Laguna.

Unconcerned

Not only that, while barangay officials have put up strict controls in allowing people in and out (only authorized persons outside of residents, or APORs, and those going to market on the designated day are allowed to enter and leave), they didn’t seem to care about what is happening inside the barangay itself.

“Minsan, naririnig po namin na may nagkakaraoke kahit dis-oras na ng gabi,” one of the residents said.

What’s worse, according to other sources, is that some barangay tanods didn’t even bother to check whether the people going in and out of their barangays are really APORs.

In one barangay in San Pedro City, for instance, one of OpinYon Laguna’s reporters wasn’t even asked for an identification card.

“Tinanong lang ako, ‘APOR ka ba?’ Sabi ko, ‘Opo.’ Ayun, pinadaan agad ako. Ni hindi man lang tiningnan ang aking ID. Eh di tiyak na may makalulusot talaga sa kanila.”

With such laxity in the implementation of health protocols, a few residents are now worried that they have no way of knowing whatsoever who is infected with the virus in their village.


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