CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — The City Health Office (CHO) has reimposed the mandatory wearing of masks as part of measures to prevent the spread of Mpox and other contagious diseases in the city.

Dr. Rachel Dilla, city health officer, in a directive, said the mandatory wearing of masks applies to all City offices and health centers all over the province and imposes the “No face mask, No entry policy”.

The mandatory wearing of mask was recommended by the CHO in March last year after the reported outbreak of Pertussis (whooping cough) and influenza like illness in some parts of the country.

The outbreak of pertussis, which is a highly-contagious respiratory tract infection, has become an epidemic in other parts of the country and wearing a mask is one of the preventive measures to prevent its outbreak in the city.

Meanwhile, separate cases of Mpox (monkeypox) have been confirmed in both the city and province of Iloilo, health authorities announced as they ramp up efforts to contain the virus.

The Iloilo CHO reported one confirmed case along with four suspected cases currently under close observation.

All five individuals are in isolation and in stable condition, according to CHO head Dr. Mary Ann Diaz.

Dr. Diaz emphasized the importance of proper hygiene, including frequent handwashing and the use of alcohol-based sanitizers.

She also advised the public to avoid crowded areas and to seek immediate medical consultation and self-isolate if symptoms appear.

The confirmed case in the city has no recent travel history. Contact tracing is ongoing, and specimens from suspected cases have been submitted to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) for confirmation.

Meanwhile, the confirmed case in the province was identified after the RITM tested three specimens, with one returning a positive result, according to Iloilo Provincial Health Office (IPHO) chief Dr. Maria Socorro Colmenares-Quiñon.

The patient, who also has no travel history, is currently recovering in home isolation.

Nine close contacts have been identified, all of whom have been placed under isolation and remain asymptomatic as of this writing.

Both the ICHO and IPHO are working closely with national and regional health authorities to implement containment measures and ensure timely public health updates.