Stricter quarantine in Ilocos Sur town, Sibugay, Isabela

MANILA, Philippines — Another town in Ilocos Sur will revert to modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ).

Cabugao Mayor Edgardo Cobangbang Jr. approved Resolution 21 placing the town under MECQ from March 26 to June 8 due to a spike in COVID-19 cases.

The stricter quarantine was based on the declaration of the Local Inter-Agency Task Force on COVID-19 and an executive order issued by Gov. Ryan Luis Singson.

Cabugao recorded 15 new cases.

The town was supposed to be under general community quarantine (GCQ) until May 29.

Singson had earlier placed Vigan under MECQ from May 22 to June 5.

Meanwhile, Isabela City in Basilan will revert to GCQ for two weeks starting today.

In an EO issued by Mayor Sitti Djalia Turabin-Hataman, motorized boats are among public conveyances whose passengers should observe minimum health protocols.

Isabela accounts for 104 of the 271 active cases in Basilan.

Zamboanga Sibugay Gov. Wilter Palma said the province would shift to GCQ from May 31 to June 14.

Travelers from areas classified as moderate to critical risk for infection are required to present a negative swab test.

Palma said residents would use color-coded quarantine passes while Sundays are “no movement day” in the entire province.

Zamboanga Sibugay logged 278 active cases as of May 23.

Granular lockdown

In Bacolod City, the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) recommended the implementation of granular lockdowns in areas where new infections were recorded.

Em Ang, EOC executive director, expressed concern over the 38 deaths recorded in the city due to COVID-19 for this month alone.

As of Wednesday, Bacolod logged 1,109 active cases. Ninety percent of the patients are asymptomatic.

In the Cordilleras, hospital bed occupancy for COVID-19 patients is now at low-risk in Abra, Ifugao, Mountain Province and Kalinga.

Apayao, Baguio City and Benguet remain under high-risk, with bed occupancy ranging from 73 to 82.2 percent.

The region recorded 206 new cases on Wednesday.

Under the guidelines of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, government hospitals should allocate 30 percent of their bed capacity for COVID-19 patients while private health facilities should allot 20 percent.

In Davao City, Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio ordered the extension of the liquor ban and curfew in the city until July 31. – Gilbert Bayoran, Edith Regalado, Artemio Dumlao