GCQ eyed in Cordillera
La Trinidad imposes business curfew; Abra suspends travel passes
Department of Health (DoH) and Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) will recommend that Cordillera Autonomous Region’s (CAR) quarantine classification be elevated to general community quarantine (GCQ) in February to contain the further spread of the coronavirus.
From the current modified GCQ, DoH-CAR regional director Dr. Ruby Constantino said a higher category is needed after 13 of the 326 specimen samples submitted by the region to the Philippine Genome Center turned out to be UK variants.
“The detection of the UK variant in the region is a concern as it has a high probability of being transmitted which will further increase active cases,” she said.
The IATF may reconsider its plan should the provincial and municipal local government units increase available Covid-19 beds, she added.
As of 20 January, there were 59 temporary treatment facilities in CAR with 2,548 beds, or a ratio of 1:709. Of the number, 750 beds were occupied. There were also 410 isolation beds in hospitals and 41 intensive care unit beds with 79.10 percent utilization rate, placing it in the “high risk” category.
“We hope it does not proceed with the higher classification,” she added.
The detection of the UK variant in the region is a concern as it has a high probability of being transmitted which will further increase active cases.
The DoH report classified 16 local government units as critical epidemic areas due to the high number of cases — the towns of Besao, Bontoc, Sabangan, and Sadanga in Mountain Province; Balbalan, Lubuagan, Pasil, Rizal, Tanudan and Tabuk City in Kalinga; Atok, Itogon, Kapangan, Mankayan in Benguet; and Hungduan and Kiangan in Ifugao province.
Mountain Province is the only province nationwide categorized under the critical category, according to DoH-CAR, while Covid-19 tracker showed 850 new cases on 18 to 22 January.
CAR logged a record daily-high of 350 on 18 January. As of Saturday, the region has 1,685 active infections. Baguio was still on top of the list with 473, followed by Kalinga with 393.
Curfew, travel ban, ECQ
La Trinidad Mayor Romeo Salda also issued an advisory that all business establishments should be closed by 8 p.m.
Pursuant to Municipal Inter-Agency Task Force resolution 01-2021, daily siren blasts will begin thirty minutes earlier to remind owners and operators to prepare for closing time.
Drug stores and gasoline stations are exempted from the 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. order while those aged 15 years old and below and 65 years old and above can go out only to avail of essential goods and services. Even transients should comply with orders.
One of the 16 individuals reportedly infected with the new Covid-19 UK variant is a resident of La Trinidad, which has 140 active cases as of 21 January.
Tabuk City, capital of Kalinga, will be under ECQ for 14 days starting Monday as its healthcare system is slowly being overwhelmed, according to Mayor Darwin Estrañero.
Abra, meanwhile, temporarily suspended the issuance of travel passes for travels to Baguio, Benguet and other CAR provinces until further notice.