The province of Iloilo and this highly urbanized city have retained their modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) status but only from July 16 to 22, 2021.
The new classification was approved by President Rodrigo Duterte upon the recommendation of the National Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (NIATF-EID) as announced by Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque on Thursday.
Roque said if the number of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases in the city and the province will not improve, then there is a possibility that the classification will change.
Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor Jr., meanwhile, has consulted with the mayors of 42 municipalities and one component city for the possible implementation of a selective enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in areas where there are continuous transmission and clustering of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases.
He said that the province could no longer afford an ECQ but what could be done is to implement smaller containment areas.
“As much as possible we use the smallest geographical unit within the parameters set,” he said citing the province’s Executive Order 222, which was adopted from national issuances, containing the recommended community quarantine policy for the zoning containment strategy.
He added that implementing a lockdown is not easy. You have to feed affected households and those manning border checkpoints.
“You make other adjustments. This solution is not applicable now; you have to think of something else. That is why our campaign for mayors is reverse isolation and they agree,” he said.
By observing reverse isolation, a member of a family who goes out of their house has to self-isolate and observe minimum health protocol as a precautionary measure, especially if there are senior citizens and adults with comorbidities in their home.
Data from the Iloilo Provincial Health Office (IPHO) showed that as of July 14, the province has 2,975 active cases, 349 deaths, and the rest are recoveries from out of its 14,411 total cumulative cases.
Mayor Jerry P. Treñas, in his statement through his official Facebook account, said the metropolis is grateful to the NIATF for listening to the appeal of the local government and the “plea of the various private sectors”.
“Despite the quarantine status, we can still be able to open some of the businesses and help our fellow Ilonggos earn a living for their families,” the mayor said.
Source: Philippines News Agency
