VIGAN CITY, July 4 (PIA) – Two residents from this Heritage City succumbed to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the city government of Vigan disclosed this week.

One of the two recent mortalities is patient IS-C2499, a 53-year-old female resident of Barangay IV who died last June 26 because of brainstem failure and COVID-19.

Another COVID-19 related death was recorded in July 1.

She is patient IS-C3295, a 72-year-old resident of Magsaysay Village in Barangay Tamag and was exposed to previous confirmed cases.

She has been on home quarantine since June 18.

On June 29, she was admitted at Metro Vigan Hospital because of difficulty of breathing and body weakness.

On July 1, she succumbed to acute respiratory failure secondary to pneumonia, severe COVID-19, and community-acquired pneumonia, moderate risk.

Some of her family members are still in isolation, adding to the heaviness brought by grieving and loss.

City Mayor Juan Carlo Medina assured them that the city government will always be a present help, whatever they may need.

Medina also extended his condolences to their families, relatives and friends in this difficult time.

He said on Friday that the COVID-19 Task Force of the city has formally recommended to the Provincial Government of Ilocos Sur for the extension of the implementation of general community quarantine.

“While active confirmed cases are lower now compared to the previous month, we still have 19 barangays with declared granular lockdowns. This still necessitates further mobility and activity restrictions as we continue to implement testing, tracing, isolation, and disinfection protocols,” he added.

Meanwhile, the city government of Vigan has opened more vaccination hotlines where residents can pre-register to avoid long queues for vaccination against COVID-19.

The city government said all individuals who belong to A1, A2, and A3 categories who have not yet registered for vaccination may call these hotlines: 0956-390-9069, 0977-011-9550, and 0977-011-9559 from Monday to Friday from 8a.m to 5p.m. for vaccine schedule and appointment.

The city government has 2,800 available slots for the priority groups composed of medical frontliners, senior citizens, and adults with comorbidities.

“For those who have already pre-registered and are on our waiting list, our Secretariat will call you for confirmation and schedule of vaccination,” it said in an advisory.

To avail of the mass vaccination program, each pre-registered person is required to prepare his identification card for A1, senior citizen card for A2, and proof of residency and comorbidity for the A3 category.

The proof of comorbidity may include a medical certificate or a recent prescription medicine with the name of the patient.

“We remind the public, especially those falling in the A1, A2 and A3, to call our bakuna hotlines to register their vaccine schedule. We are optimistic that as we continue to implement health protocols and achieve herd immunity through vaccination, little by little, we are going to see the end of this pandemic,” Medina said.

The city government has also opened the pre-registration for the A4 (workers) category last week. (JCR/AMB/PIA Ilocos Sur)