ILOILO – The province of Iloilo will remain under the Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ) according to Governor Arthur Defensor Jr.
He said he received information from the National Inter-Agency Task Force (NIATF) that the province will remain under MGCQ until June. The governor is currently waiting for the resolution.
“MGCQ kita sa gihapon pero ti ma-meeting pa ang task force for the official pronouncement,” Defensor said.
The new quarantine classification for the different regions in the country will be announced by the NIATF today, May 31.
According to him, there is no need to raise the quarantine classification of the province since they are already implementing the MGCQ measures such as the liquor ban, resorts closure, prohibition of social gatherings, and strict observance of minimum health standards.
On Saturday, Defensor called for an emergency meeting with the mayors, municipal health officers, the Hospital Management Office (MHO), and the Provincial Health Office (PHO) to discuss the necessity of stricter COVID-19 measures.
One of the agenda discussed was the limiting of non-essential travels.
Defensor said the COVID-19 cases in the province cannot support for the proposition of a lockdown, and so no other measures can be raised at the moment.
“Because ang mga lockdown on municipal or province-wide level indi sia practical sa subong para sa aton. When you do something like that you ask the question what can our economy afford? What can the people afford?”
The provincial government has instead placed barangays with a surge in COVID-19 cases under granular lockdown.
Data from the PHO showed a surge of 562 COVID cases in the province from May 25 to 29.
From May 1 to 29 alone, cases in the province reached 1, 494, with the daily average number around 52.
The top five local government units (LGU) with the highest total confirmed cases are Passi City (790), Oton (636), Pavia (534), Miag-ao (294), and San Joaquin (249).
Menawhile, the LGUs with highest number of active cases are the following: Oton (114), Pavia (199), Santa Barbara (70), Guimbal (65), and Maasin (66).
Defensor reminded the public to refrain from social gatherings and to follow the minimum public health standards.
“So, liwaton ko ang ining bagay nga ginapangayo sang probinsya sang Iloilo kinahanglan i-sakripisyohan naton, kinahanglan sang pagpa-umod kag pagpa-intindi sang mga tawo. Ang ginahimu naton kontra sa COVID-19 waay sang mahapos, mabudlay ini sia pero kinahanglan ta agwantahon kay amo lang na ang mahimu naton para mangin madinalag-on ang kampanya naton sa COVID-19.”/PN
