The Emergency Operations Center-Task Force (EOC-TF) has reported that all active coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases in this city have already been isolated as of this week.

City Administrator Em Ang, concurrent executive director of the EOC-TF, said, in a statement on Saturday, “zero backlogs” in extraction is vital in reducing the Covid-19 cases in Bacolod.

“The efforts of our front-liners in the extraction cluster have paid off. Their performance has greatly contributed to lowering our Covid-19 cases recently,” she added.

In a report to the EOC-TF as of Aug. 5, Executive assistant Ernesto Pineda, head of the extraction cluster, said all Covid-19 cases have been promptly extracted and brought for treatment in hospitals or isolation facilities.

The EOC-TF did not provide the latest number of cases in isolation, but as of Aug. 6, Bacolod has 810 active cases, records of the Department of Health-Western Visayas showed.

Ang said such feat is a result of the collaboration and coordination among the EOC clusters, including the legal team, Liga ng mga Barangay, Bacolod City Police Office as well as the isolation facilities cluster, and information-education cluster.

“It couldn’t have been possible without the hard work of all EOC clusters working hand in hand to put up a system that is collaborative, harmonized, and synchronized in battling this pandemic,” she added.

Last June, the EOC-TF extraction cluster had raised concerns about the refusal of individuals who tested positive for Covid-19 to leave their homes.

Pineda then said they declined to be brought to an isolation facility because they feel comfortable staying at home while recovering from the illness, but the concern has been addressed after the cluster already reported 100 percent extraction this week.

Dr. Rosalie Deocampo, head of the contact tracing cluster, said a delay in extracting and isolating an individual positive of Covid-19 increases the risk of infecting 90 percent of the patient’s household members.

“To prevent this, prompt extraction and isolation must be implemented,” she added.

Section 9 of the Republic Act 11332, otherwise known as the “Law on Reporting of Communicable Diseases” could be used as the basis in addressing instances when the patient refuses to cooperate for extraction and isolation.

This refers to the non-cooperation of the person or entities identified as having the notifiable disease or health events of public concern. (PNA)