Pangasinan town seeks stricter quarantine

ANDA, Pangasinan, Philippines — The municipal government in this coastal town wants to be placed under stricter modified enhanced community quarantine or MECQ as the number of coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19 cases rise.

Mayor Jogane Rarang asked the regional inter-agency task force on COVID-19 or IATF to allow the MECQ declaration for two weeks to ensure public safety and prevent the spread of the virus.

Rarang advised residents to stay home and observe health protocols.

Anda, which has 18 barangays, recorded seven active cases yesterday.

The town is among 21 areas on the COVID watchlist in Pangasinan due to the number of active cases.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire had earlier said local government units could implement “granular lockdowns” if confirmed cases rise instead of imposing stricter quarantine restrictions.

In Leyte, Baybay City Mayor Jose Carlos Cari said the Western Leyte Provincial Hospital was locked down for two weeks starting yesterday after a doctor contracted the virus.

The doctor, who manifested symptoms, was isolated in a quarantine facility in his hometown in Southern Leyte.

Cari said admission and discharge of patients in the hospital were suspended.

Twenty hospital employees and 11 patients were exposed to the doctor, according to the city’s contact tracing team.

Cari called on those who visited the hospital from Oct. 4 to 13 to contact the city health office, disaster risk reduction and management office or local inter-agency task force on COVID-19. — Miriam Desacada