ILOILO City – The Iloilo Police Provincial Office (IPPO) deployed additional policemen to the municipalities of Alimodian and Bingawan to help in the strict enforcement of quarantine rules after the towns reverted back to enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).
Alimodian recorded 10 more cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on July 15, which prompted authorities to extend further its ECQ.
Meanwhile, Bingawan was placed under ECQ midnight of July 13 after six staff of the town’s Rural Health Unit were found infected with COVID-19.
Police Colonel Paul Kenneth Lucas, IPPO director, said he fielded 10 more police officers in each municipality.
“We pulled out some of our men assigned at the IPPO, Regional Public Safety Battalion and Special Weapons and Tactics team,” Lucas said.
According to Mayor Mark Palabrica, the ECQ status in Bingawan will remain for two weeks as local authorities rolled out contract tracing for close contacts of the six cases.
Meanwhile, Alimodian’s Mayor Gefree Alonsabe pointed out that limiting the movement of people is part of the ECQ to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission.
ECQ is a form of community quarantine implementing temporary measures imposing stringent limitations on movement and transportation of people, strict regulation of operating industries, provision of food and essential services, and heightened presence of uniformed personnel to enforce community quarantine protocols./PN
