IF INCREASE IN CASES CONTINUES

AFTE 49 new confirmed COVID-19 cases and only four recoveries were registered on September 15, health officials are bent on considering to revert back to General Community Quarantine (GCQ) status from the present Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ).

This was indicated by Dr. Anna de Guzman, provincial health officer, when the province registered the biggest surge of COVID-19 cases in a single day on September 15 since the contagion started in Pangasinan mid-March.

She said it has to be done if the public won’t cooperate with the standard health protocols being implemented, referring to recent events when some locally stranded individuals (LSI) and authorized persons outside residence (APOR), who arrived from high-risk areas outside the province and failed to report to their respective municipality or city health offices.

She also disagreed with the IATF decision to reduce physical distancing in public utility vehicles, because the situation in the province will worsen.

The number of active COVID-19 cases further increased on September 16 with 26 new confirmed cases and only 11 recoveries, and raised the number of active COVID-19 patients in Pangasinan to 173, the highest ever since the contagion started.

The updated tally showed 413 recovered patients and 23 patients died.

There were also 21 new confirmed cases on September 13, then followed by 14 new confirmed cases on September 14.

Because of unexpected spike, De Guzman said she will be compelled to recommend the reversion of Pangasinan’s status from MGCQ to GCQ if 20 or more cases or double-digit increase of new confirmed cases are recorded each day for three consecutive days.

Meanwhile, she recommended that local governments should already consider setting up more isolation facilities in anticipation of higher cases.

However, Dr. Reuel Bobis, the COVID-19 focal person in Region 1, pointed out that the sudden spike in the number of COVID-19 cases in Pangasinan was the result of the expanded contact-tracing conducted by authorities, that found several persons that tested positive because of their exposure to confirmed cases.

Bobis admitted it was the DOH-Center for Health Development in Region 1, had directed local governments to expand their contact tracing and implement zoning lockdown when necessary in order to prevent the spread of the disease.

According to Robis, the close contacts of COVID-19 patients who later tested positive were immediately isolated in local isolation facilities and in hospitals for those with severe symptoms. (Leonardo Micua/Ahikam Pasion)

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