State of calamity in Palawan amid COVID-19 surge

MANILA, Philippines — The entire province of Palawan has been placed under a state of calamity amid a surge in COVID-19 cases.

The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council issued a resolution declaring a state of calamity to allow the provincial government to use emergency and quick response funds to respond to the pandemic.

The resolution is awaiting the signature of acting governor Dennis Socrates.

The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office said more food packs, medicine, testing kits and personal protective equipment should be bought and additional facilities, including a molecular laboratory, should be put up.

Palawan logged 659 confirmed cases as of Tuesday. Roxas town recorded the highest number of cases at 123; Bataraza, 103; Brooke’s Point, 94; Coron, 75, and Taytay, 71.

In an interview on dzBB, Palawan public information office chief Winston Arzaga said the spike in cases was due to the easing of travel restrictions.

“There’s no quarantine… they arrived in Puerto Princesa and visited other tourist destinations,” Arzaga said.

7-day quarantine

Meanwhile, a seven-day facility-based quarantine will be imposed until June 30 for all inbound travelers to Palawan.

Returning Filipinos who have completed their mandatory quarantine as certified by the Department of Health (DOH)’s Bureau of Quarantine are exempted.

Authorized persons outside of residence, visitors covered by the Department of Tourism’s so-called travel bubble and vaccination teams are also not covered by the mandatory quarantine.

Palawan emergency operations center head Jerry Alili said local government units should put up more quarantine facilities using government buildings, such as barangay halls or schools.

As this developed, DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire discouraged the branding of an area where a spike in COVID cases was recorded as an “epicenter.”

“These areas are not the origin of the COVID-19 virus... The term epicenter detracts from surrounding areas which may be equally or more affected by COVID-19,” Vergeire said. – Sheila Crisostomo