CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga (PIA) -- The provincial government of Pampanga appealed to mayors for the activation of their respective temporary treatment and monitoring facilities (TTMF) amid rising COVID-19 cases. 
 
This came as utilization rate of COVID-19 dedicated ward beds in public and private hospitals approach critical levels.
 
During an emergency meeting, Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office Head Angelina Blanco said there are still 659 available isolation beds in the province. 
 
With this, Governor Dennis Pineda urged local chief executives to maximize the use of these facilities to isolate close contacts of positive individuals. 
 
He also directed the mayors to strengthen their contact tracing efforts as well as the implementation of the Prevent, Detect, Isolate, Treat, Reintegrate, and Immunize strategies, along with the health and safety protocols in order to prevent further transmission of the virus. 
 
Moreover, the governor also mandates local leaders to strictly implement granular lockdowns to mitigate the spread.
 
"At this time, we need to prioritize imposing a 10-day granular lockdown only on barangays hit by surge. We cannot afford to lockdown an entire town or city because this will affect the livelihood of the Kapampangans, as well as the economy of the province,” Pineda said. 
 
He also urged municipal and city governments to expedite vaccine roll-out in order to achieve the target of vaccinating 20,000 or more people per day in the province. (CLJD/MJSC-PIA 3)