(PNA Bacolod photo) BACOLOD CITY - Mayor Evelio Leonardia is reminding residents here to continue adhering to minimum public health standards as the city enters its third month under Alert Level 1 status. "We still should not underestimate Covid-19. In other countries, it is still (a) big problem," Leonardia said on Friday, when the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) announced that Bacolod will remain in the lowest category of Covid-19 alert level system until May 15. He added that being under Alert Level 1 until the middle of next month is "another good news" for the city, where large crowds have also gathered for political rallies since the start of the local campaign on the last week of March. "I congratulate the people of Bacolod. Meaning to say we have sustained it. What's important is for people to know we did things right. Our policies and practices were hitting the targets," the mayor said. Leonardia told residents to still observe health protocols, especially the use of face masks. Under Alert Level 1, there are no longer restrictions on indoor and outdoor gatherings. On April 28, Bacolod recorded one new Covid-19 case, bringing the city's total active cases to 69, data from the Department of Health in Western Visayas showed. In February, the city has transitioned from Alert Level 3 to Alert Level 2, and then to Alert Level 1 by March 1 after recording a high vaccination rate and a significant drop in infections. Since then, Bacolod has recorded zero cases on April 16, March 12 and 14, and February 21, according to the Emergency Operations Center Task Force. The first time Bacolod had a zero case in a day was on March 10, 2021, or about a year after the initial community quarantine. "We are now under the new normal. But then again, we must remain vigilant because Covid-19 is still here. We have to live with it and adjust to it accordingly and cautiously," Leonardia said. (PNA) }