KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews / 17 May) – The city government here will provide financial assistance to workers, households and barangays that are directly affected by the continuing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
Haydee Anunciado, head of the City Social Welfare and Development Office, said Monday the cash grants will be released to replace the usual food packs that it provides to individuals and families with members who have tested positive for the disease.
She said households with positive cases starting last May 12 will receive a financial assistance of PHP3,000.
Non-residents who are working in the city and infected with COVID-19 will receive PHP1,000 after presenting a barangay certification, Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction positive test result and employer’s certification, she said.
Anunciado said residents declared as close contacts of COVID-19 patients and whose work and movements are affected due to the mandatory 14-day quarantine will be provided with food packs.
“We’re continually coordinating with the concerned barangays to fast track the release of the assistance to the concerned individuals and households,” she said in a statement.
Aside from the provision of cash grants and food packs, City Mayor Eliordo Ogena said the city government will provide additional financial assistance of PHP40,000 to PHP50,000 to the affected barangays to augment their response initiatives.
The local government had allocated some PHP24 million for its COVID-19 response, with PHP8 million intended for the purchase of initial vaccines.
As of 6 p.m. Sunday, the active cases in the city slightly increased to 238 after recording 23 new infections and 21 recoveries.
The confirmed cases here since last year already reached a total of 1,337, with 25 related deaths and 1,073 recovered patients.
The city government placed 23 communities in 11 barangays here under “granular lockdown” or modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) for 14 days starting Saturday due to the high incidence of COVID-19.
The move came a day after the completion of the 14-day MECQ in Barangays Sta. Cruz and Gen. Paulino Santos.
The affected areas are San Antonio Phases 1, 3 and 4, Agan Homes East, Agan Homes and Purok Masipag in Sta. Cruz; Purok La Trinidad in Zone 1; Purok Clemente and Lopez Jaena Street in Zone 4; Callejo Subdivision and Purok Bagong Sikat in Gen. Paulino Santos; Agreda Phase 1, 2 and Purok Riverside in Sto. Nino; Purok Dungan Lahek in Saravia; Puroks Mabinuligon and Libertad in Topland; Puroks Santan and Gumamela in Avancena; Victory Homes in Paraiso; Sueno Village in Morales; and, Puroks Quirino and Rojas in Concepcion.
But on Monday morning, Ogena lifted the MECQ in Callejo Subdivision, Barangay Gen. Paulino Santos as the confirmed cases in the area has reportedly decreased.
The mayor said they are opting for focused containment instead of declaring a total lockdown to sustain the economic activities in the city.
“Lockdown is not a solution. Lockdown alone will not solve the problem and will only paralyze the city. It is the last recourse, the last option but we don’t want to reach that stage,” he said. (MindaNews)