Barangay front-liners and other essential workers here are recipients of 25,000 face shields from the Office of the President through the Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas (OPAV).
On Tuesday, the city government distributed 1,500 pieces to City Hall front-liners after turning over the initial 18,000 pieces to those in the 61 barangays on Monday.
Mayor Evelio Leonardia said he appreciates the donation from President Rodrigo Duterte as he also thanked Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Michael Lloyd Dino for facilitating the assistance for Bacolod amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) crisis.
“Every shred of help from the national government will always go a long way to helping our fight against Covid-19 considering that we are trying to conserve our resources for the city’s vaccination program. May more of this help come our way because our people need them badly,” he added.
The remaining 5,500 pieces of face shields will be distributed next to market vendors in the city’s three major public markets, and store personnel in commercial establishments at the downtown area, where the Central Market is located.
Starting this week, the city government has imposed stricter minimum health protocols in the three main markets amid the increasing Covid-19 cases in the city.
Aside from the Central Market, the Burgos (North) and Libertad (South) markets are implementing mechanisms to contain the surge of cases in marketplaces and adjacent areas.
A Task Force Market Disiplina will initiate measures to counter the spread of the virus such as the deployment of personnel that will scan and inspect contact tracing ID cards of customers and make sure that social distancing and wearing of face masks and face shields are observed.
“It (strict enforcement of health protocols) is really okay with us since the Covid-19 cases are increasing. I met with my group and we all agreed to wear face masks and face shields,” Burgos Vendors’ Association head Lucelyn de la Paz said.
On Monday, Bacolod logged 42 new cases and 42 new recoveries. Of the city’s total 6,457 cases, 456 are active. (PNA)
