Bohol Governor Arthur Yap on Saturday said the COVID-19 pandemic is the “most challenging problem” the province has ever dealt with, with some of the mayors facing problems in implementing their protocols.
Interviewed at the Laging Handa public briefing, Yap reported that they currently have 1,974 active cases amid the rise of Delta variant cases.
He said the province’s critical care utilization rate was at 80 percent.
“Least to say, we are really looking at the situation very seriously,” added Yap.
Furthermore, based on the Department of Health (DOH) findings, the four Delta cases in Bohol, as confirmed by the Philippine Genome Center, came from local transmissions.
“‘Yung mga tao rin, siyempre umaabot tayo sa punto na nagkakaroon ng fatigue ‘yung mga tao sa pagsunod, minsan ‘yung mayors hindi na rin alam kung ano ang gagawin, tapos kulang pa ang pondo,” he said.
(The people too, we get to the point where they are fatigued from following the protocols. Sometimes the mayors, too, do not know what to do, with the lack of funds.)
Yap said some local government units (LGUs) in the province were challenged in implementing granular lockdowns, with some of the residents not originally from Bohol.
“Ang daming complications talaga dito sa hinaharap nating COVID (There are a lot of complications in this COVID-19 pandemic we are facing). It is really the most challenging problem that we’ve ever met,” Yap emphasized.
Yap said the outbreak of infections was not coming from those returning home but from local transmissions.
“Ang challenge ngayon is paano natin paiintindihin sa mga tao na doon galing ‘yung cases, nasa local transmission,” Yap said, adding that some local residents are complaining about undergoing quarantine.
(The challenge right now is on how will we make people understand that the cases are coming from local transmissions.)
“Everybody is doing their best, but I think ang kalaban din natin dito ay ‘yung fatigue” (our enemy as well is fatigue).
After three weeks, Yap issued a directive lifting the suspension imposed on air and sea travel of passengers bound for Bohol for non-authorized persons outside residence (non-APORs).
Yap signed Executive Order No. 42 on Tuesday, lifting Bohol’s border closure on Wednesday, September 1. But returning residents and tourists still have to comply with requirements, including a negative result of a Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test conducted within 72 hours before arrival. — DVM, GMA News
0 Comments