Cordilleras, Davao may revert to stricter quarantine

MANILA, Philippines — The Cordillera Autonomous Region and Davao may shift to stricter general community quarantine or GCQ due to the increase in the number of coronavirus disease 2019 cases, presidential spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said yesterday.

Roque said the two regions are ”candidates for escalation of community quarantine since they are at moderate risk.”

“The bed utilization rate is one of the considerations we study when it comes to quarantine classifications,” he said.

Davao and the Cordilleras are under moderate GCQ until the end of this month.

Roque said the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases or IATF is waiting for President Duterte’s directive on the quarantine classifications in Metro Manila and the other regions for next month.

“Napakahirap ko po kasing magsalita. Nirireserba natin kay Presidente iyong desisyon. Nakita naman po ninyo, hindi lahat ng rekomendasyon ng IATF ay nai-implement ni Presidente. Kaya napakahirap pong magsalita ngayon,” Roque said in an interview over dzMM.

While some local chief executives have announced that they are in favor of extending the GCQ status, Roque said it would still depend on the decision of the President.

He said some areas would be under strictest enhanced community quarantine or ECQ due to the spike in confirmed COVID-19 cases.

“It is premature to announce right now… Notice has been given to various LGUs (local government units) because they need to prepare,” Roque said.

Cebu COVID-19 cases

Meanwhile, the OCTA Research Group raised concern yesterday over the continuing surge of COVID-19 cases in Cebu City and the entire province.

Citing data from the Department of Health, the group said the average number of daily new cases in Cebu rose from 98 from Jan. 14 to 20 to 147 in the past week.

Cebu overtook Davao del Sur as the province with the highest number of average daily new cases after Metro Manila, with 398.

If the trend continues in the next two weeks, OCTA warned the public that Cebu could record 400 new cases, which might trigger the imposition of ECQ.

“While the attack rate of Cebu was still below the high risk cut-off, the significant increase in new cases, if unmitigated, could pose challenges to the healthcare system of the province,” the group said, referring to the percentage of new cases per 100,000 population.

“The concern right now is the possibility that the UK variant is spreading in parts of Cebu,” it said.

OCTA had earlier recommended that swab samples from Cebu and Iloilo undergo sequencing to determine if there are cases of the more infectious coronavirus variant.

The report also noted that the average number of new cases in Iloilo increased last week, although its attack and positivity rates, which indicate the number of individuals who yielded positive results out of the total tests conducted, remain low.

OCTA said Bukidnon, Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur and South Cotabato would continue to be monitored after they averaged more than 20 new cases per day in the past week.