REVERSION TO ECQ UNLIKELY

PANGASINAN, with 83 active COVID-19 cases as of July 29, has not reached the critical zone so it is very unlikely that it would be reverted to Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) status.

Based on the zoning containment classification strategy released by the National Task Force for COVID-19, Dr. Anna de Guzman, provincial health officer, said the province has not yet reached the point that could warrant its downgrade to ECQ., from the present Modified General Community Quarantine status.

Statistics in Pangasinan consistently show that the number of patients that recovered greatly is outpacing the number that so far died in the province. So far it, it’s 133 recovered, nine deaths in province and two in Dagupan City.

Of the 218 confirmed cases, 35 were in Dagupan, 184 in other towns and cities.

Responding to the suggestion of Dr. Roland Mejia, chief of the Region 1 Medical Center, that it’d be better for Pangasinan to slide back to ECQ classification on account of its rising COVID-19 cases, Dr. De Guzman said that the increase in the number of cases “is the side effect of the active case findings of the provincial government,” and was expected.

She also cited the fact that among the top 20 most populous provinces in the country, Pangasinan ranks 17th in terms of recorded positive cases of COVID-19 as of the latest count.

Though saddened by the sharp rise of COVID-19 cases in the province, Gov. Amado Espino III supported the explanation of De Guzman, that it was the expanded mass testing that caused the increase although those found positive for COVID-19 were all found asymptomatic, except for just a few.

At the same time, the governor partly attributed the increase of cases to the arrival of Locally Stranded Individuals (LSIs) from the National Capital Region who, when subjected to RT-PCR tests were found positive of the virus.

In Dagupan, Dr. Ophelia Rivera, COVID-19 focal person, told the Sangguniang Panlungsod that it is better to lockdown “puroks” when there are two or more cases, not the whole city.

In welcoming LSIs to Pangasinan, authorities are requiring LSIs to step out of the vehicles that brought them to Pangasinan to take Rapid Tests. If found positive, their specimens are swabbed for confirmatory RT-PCR test and are immediately isolated.

Meanwhile, border control strictly requires incoming travelers to present PNP travel permit, medical clearance and negative RT-PCR test result. (Leonardo Micua)

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