BY CHRYSEE G. SAMILLANO
Bacolod Councilor Lady Gles Gonzales-Pallen will author a resolution suspending the implementation of penalties on establishments who will not yet be ready to register with the COVID-19 contact-tracing app by Monday, City Administrator Em Ang said during a virtual press conference yesterday.
Pallen had authored City Ordinance No. 941 implementing the BaCTrac system city-wide which requires all business establishments and government offices to implement the contact-tracing system by October 12.
The app was inspired by the South Cotabato Contact Tracing System (SC-CCTS) which has proven helpful in data gathering amid local transmission of the deadly virus.
Ang said she believes the proposal of Pallen will extend the deadline of the implementation of penalties for another month.
There is no deadline for citizens to register. The ordinance does not also provide penalties for those who fail to register. However, QR codes will be required by establishments and government offices starting October 12, she said.
Ang said penalties will only be imposed on establishments that do not register, and scanning of the QR Codes for those entering their respective establishments.
IATF-Visayas chief implementer Maj. Gen. (retired) Mel Feliciano said the Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ) implemented last month for 22 days has contained the movement of individuals and helped in the reduction of the number of COVID-19 cases in Bacolod City.
Feliciano said the coordinated, synchronized and harmonized activities of the Emergency Operation Center (EOC) is also one factor that has contributed to the reduction in the number of cases.
But the heart of the operations is the active contact tracing being conducted by the EOC and the testing and isolation of close contacts of COVID positive patients, he said.
These are the activities that have helped greatly in containing the spread of the virus, Feliciano added.*
