MANILA – Iloilo city and province under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) will receive assistance from the national government, according to Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque.
His ECQ announcement past noon on Friday triggered panic buying in downtown Iloilo City. People feared running out of essential household supplies if shops close.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) will provide aid, said Roque.
“The DSWD Field Office 6 is coordinating with the LGUs (local government units) to determine how many families within the ECQ areas are affected and are eligible to receive aid from the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS),” Roque told Panay News on Friday night.
DSWD is also coordinating with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) for the provision of air and other logistical assets for the immediate distribution of Family Food Packs (FFPs), he added.
“This augmentation support by the national government via DSWD is on top of the stockpiles and food packs, which concerned LGUs can provide,” Roque said.
The ECQ in Iloilo will run until July 31.
“The reclassification was made upon the recommendations of the Department of Health (DOH), its Technical Advisory Group, and the Technical Working Group on COVID-19 Variants,” Roque said.
Among the factors considered for the shift were daily attack rate of COVID-19, the utilization level of the healthcare system, and the local government’s capacity to race and isolate potential patients, Roque added.
DOH separately announced that in nearby Antique province, two Delta variant COVID-19 cases were detected.
OTHER AREAS
Meanwhile, Roque said Antique province would be under general community quarantine (GCQ) with heightened restrictions until July 31, instead of July 22.
The Palace spokesperson also clarified on Friday the quarantine restrictions for the rest of Region 6 following confusion with his announcement on Thursday afternoon.
Bacolod City, Capiz and Aklan were under GCQ with heightened restrictions until July 22, while Negros Occidental and Guimaras remain under GCQ for the rest of July.
J&J VAX FOR WV
Moreover, vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. said Western Visayas will be one of the priority areas for the 2.3 million doses of one-shot Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine that arrived in the country yesterday and today.
“Western Visayas will be one of the priority areas sa first two batches of Johnson & Johnson vaccines na darating sa ating bansa,” Galvez said during Department of Health’s virtual presser on Friday./PN
