ILOILO City – This city remains under modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) until June 15, announced President Rodrigo Duterete in a pre-recorded national address last night, May 31.
Cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in this city are on the rise.
Mayor Jerry Treñas requested the extension of the MECQ, which started on May 23 and was supposed to end yesterday.
“In view of the number of our COVID cases and the present situation of our health facilities, we are compelled to request to place the city under MECQ for another 15 days from June 1 to June 15, 2021,” said Treñas.
The rest of Western Visayas is under modified general community quarantine (MGCQ), according to Duterte.
He also directed the National Task Force Against COVID-19 chief implementer and COVID-19 vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. to have additional vaccines to Iloilo City.
“I am directing Secretary Galvez to make a distribution — parang pro-rata,” President Duterte said. “Dapat mabigyan lahat starting from Iloilo City, Zamboanga, Cagayan, Butuan.”
He added: “Paghati-hatian natin itong (mga darating na COVID-19 vaccines sa mga nasabing lugar). Tutal the bulk of the people in NCR (National Capital Region), meron na silang bakuna.”.
Bacolod City, for the fifth straight month, remains under MGCQ for the entire month of June but the Department of Health (DOH) has said earlier on Monday that the city is considered “high risk” to COVID-19 infections.
Data from the Department of Health Region 6 showed Iloilo City recording 98 new COVID-19 cases on May 31, all local transmission, thereby raising to 1,589 the city’s active cases.
Iloilo City’s COVID-19 death toll was 199 as of May 31./PN