ILOILO – Two hundred sixty-four out of 1,721 barangays in this province recorded clustering of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases as of June 5.
Twenty local government units (LGUs) had the highest number of barangays with clustering of cases: Passi City (22), Miag-ao (18), Oton (17), Santa Barbara (16), Cabatuan (14), Guimbal (12), Pavia (11), Sara (10), Dumangas (10), Igbaras (nine), Janiuay (nine), Barotac Nuevo (eight), Lambunao (eight), Leganes (eight), San Miguel (six), Dingle (six), Calinog (six), San Enrique (six), and Carles (five).
Meanwhile, the towns with the least number of villages with COVID clusters included Banate (one), Bingawan (one), Lemery (one), Mina (one), and Tubungan (one).
According to the Provincial Health Office (PHO), all 43 LGUs have clustering of COVID-19 cases.
A coronavirus cluster, according to PHO’s Dr. Maria Socorro Colmenares- Quiñon, occurs when there is a concentration of local infections in the same area at the same time.
“Barangays with COVID-19 clusters registered two or more local cases in the last 14 days,” Quiñon said.
She urged barangays, especially those with high clustering of COVID cases, to take action such as localized containment.
Quiñon reiterated to everyone to always follow the 3Ms strategy – Magmaskara, Manghinaw, Magdistansya – to curb further COVID-19 transmission.
She is also encouraging everyone especially those belonging to the A1 (workers in frontline health services), A2 (senior citizens) and A3 (persons with comorbidities) priority groups to submit themselves to vaccination.
Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr., meanwhile, stressed that people should limit their movement outside of their homes, especially for those aged 15 and below and 65 and above, and those with comorbidities.
“Bangud sang padayon nga pagsaka sang kaso sang COVID-19 sa probinsya sang Iloilo, ginapangabay ko gid ang aton mga pumuluyo nga limitahan anay ang pag-guwa sa balay. Mag-guwa lamang kon may importante nga transaksyon pareho sang pagpakonsulta sa doktor, magbakal sang pagkaon ukon magkadto sa trabaho,” said Defensor.
As of June 8, Iloilo had 8,582 total coronavirus cases – 1,763 active, 6,610 recovered and 208 dead, data from the Department of Health in Region 6 showed./PN
