Pangasinan not yet out of quarantine
UNDER NEW GENERAL COMMUNITY QUARANTINE
THE Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) withdrew its low-risk area (No-Quarantine) level for Pangasinan and classified it instead as General Community Quarantine effective May 16 to 31 following an appeal made by Governor Amado Espino III to ensure the province’s certain transition to be COVID-19-free.
Governor Espino requested the reclassification and appealed to proceed with caution to the path to ‘new normal’ status and Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Ano granted it.
IATF issued on May 12 its Resolution No. 35 that classified Pangasinan as part of the Low-Risk Areas in terms of COVID-19 affliction thereby removing any form of community quarantine threat.
Espino said that while Pangasinan did not have any new COVID-19 positive case since April 24, “it is our position that certain restrictions should still be imposed in order to protect our gains against the dreaded disease”.
He cited the status in the province of Pangasinan, to include the chartered city of Dagupan that only 39 confirmed COVID-19 cases, nine of whom died while 27 have recovered, and the remaining three are on their way to recovery.
At the same time, Espino admitted that the province is still seeing an increase in the number of Persons Under Investigation (PUIs) and results of the ongoing mass-testing that targeted some 4,000 residents are still awaited.
“As of this writing, we have already submitted, and are awaiting the results of 777 specimens from the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center,” Espino said.
He said, “While we understand that our people have already suffered much because of the stringent restrictions imposed by the ECQ, it is our humble belief that we have to proceed with caution towards our path to the new normal”.
He added, “For this reason and in behalf of the three million people of Pangasinan, we humbly appeal that instead of altogether removing community quarantine in the province, Pangasinan be placed instead under General Community Quarantine from May 16 to May 31, 2020”.
Attached to Espino’s letter was the proposed Internal Rules and Regulations for the intended GCQ. (Leonardo Micua)
Share your Comments or Reactions
Powered by Facebook Comments
