Ilocos Norte suspends LSI acceptance

TUGUEGARAO , Philippines — The provincial government of Ilocos Norte has stopped accepting locally stranded individuals (LSIs) until Sept. 18 due to a spike in coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19.

The suspension will give frontliners a break as quarantine facilities in the province are almost full, Gov. Mathew Manotoc said yesterday.

The moratorium was approved by the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.

The province recorded 86 COVID cases, 35 of which are active.

Of the figure, 50 have recovered and one had died in Sarrat, the town most affected by the virus.

Meanwhile, the three suspected COVID fatalities in Isabela who were buried on Friday tested negative for the virus.

Among the cases were an 18-year-old girl and an 85-year-old woman from Cauayan City, who were rushed to separate hospitals due to difficulty in breathing.

Cauayan Mayor Bernard Dy said the fatalities were immediately buried in compliance with the government guidelines on suspected COVID cases.

The third fatality was an overseas Filipino worker from Cabatuan town, who recovered from COVID-19, but died of kidney and heart failure.