MANILA – The four provinces in Panay Island will continue to be under an enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) until May 15, according to Malacañang, but this is up for re-checking for possible downgrading to general community quarantine (GCQ).
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) quarantine status of Iloilo, Antique, Aklan, and Capiz will be finalized by the end of this month, said Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque.
“The designation of their being high-risk (for the spread of COVID-19) is for rechecking,” Roque said in a virtual press conference on Friday. “The assessment could change before April 30.”
Roque added that the categorization used were green (low-risk or low or no cases), orange (moderate or finished outbreak) and red (high-risk, accelerated infections).
The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) earlier categorized Iloilo and Antique under red, while Aklan and Capiz under orange.
Acting National Economic and Development Authority secretary Karl Chua said the IATF-EID recommendation on Panay Island was based on the latest data of confirmed COVID-19 cases from the Department of Health (DOH).
“May dalawang basehan para malaman ang status ng probinsya: una, ang bilis ng pagdoble ng mga kaso at ‘yung critical care utilization rate o kung sapat ba ang hospital equipment at ICU facilities,” Chua said.
“Ang datos na ginamit para sa Iloilo and Antique (for the IATF-EID recommendation) ay mula two days ago pa, pero mas maganda ang mga numero na galing sa local government unit,” he added.
“Sa Visayas, ang ginagawa natin ay by island. Kami ay magdedesisyon base sa data, at kung maganda na ang data, pwedeng i-adjust into GCQ,” said Chua. “Posibleng paglapit ng April 30, baka gumanda ang sitwasyon doon.”
Data from DOH Region 6 showed the following breakdown of Region 6’s COVID-19 cases as of April 24:
* Aklan – six
* Antique – nine
* Capiz – five
* Guimaras – zero
* Iloilo province – 19
* Negros Occ. – four
* Bacolod City – eight
* Iloilo City – seven
Aside from the provinces in Panay Island, other places where the quarantine status is up for re-checking are Pangasinan, Benguet, Tarlac and Zambales in Luzon, Cebu in Visayas, Davao del Norte, Davao de Oro (formerly Compostela Valley) and Davao City in Mindanao.
President Rodrigo Duterte also extended the ECQ until May 15 in Metro Manila, Batangas, Laguna, Cavite, Rizal, Quezon Province, Mindoro Island, Albay, Catanduanes, Bulacan, Bataan, Nueva Ecija, and Pampanga.
Provinces that were not mentioned in the ECQ will be placed under GCQ, or the “new normal,” according to President Duterte during the address to the nation on Friday morning.
The ECQ was initially enforced in the whole island of Luzon to arrest the spread of COVID-19 in the country.
The Luzon-wide ECQ was supposed to end on April 12 but was extended until April 30.
Enhanced community quarantine requires strict home quarantine in all households, suspension of transportation, regulation of food and essential health services, and heightened presence of uniformed personnel enforcing quarantine protocols.
General community quarantine, meanwhile, limits people’s movements to accessing basic necessities and work and directs uniformed personnel and quarantine personnel to be present at border points./PN