Palawan not keen on imposing ‘lockdown’
PUERTO PRINCESA CITY –– The provincial government of Palawan will not recommend a stricter community quarantine after a spike in confirmed COVID-19 cases was observed since last week.
Winston Arzaga, provincial information officer, said Wednesday that it was “not a wise decision” to recommend a province-wide “lockdown” or immediate shift to the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) or general community quarantine (GCQ).
“The cases have increased but we don’t think a province-wide lockdown is necessary, or impose stricter quarantine. This is not a wise decision if the entire province will be placed on lockdown considering we have returning residents, which was ordered by the President himself,” he said.
Arzaga said a localized lockdown or stricter community quarantine may be implemented in a particular village or municipality with confirmed and increasing cases.
On Sunday, the incident management team of Puerto Princesa announced a local transmission following the second COVID-19 positive case at the Ospital ng Palawan (ONP). The first case reported two days before that, was a female health worker.
City health officer Dr. Ruffia Marie Atencio on Sunday said the two cases of COVID-19 were considered local transmissions, according to the City Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit.
The ONP would also limit its operation starting Thursday as they conduct contact tracing, which has forced at least 30 of its personnel under quarantine.
Palawan has 17 confirmed COVID-19 cases, including one recovery, and one casualty. There were seven active cases in Puerto Princesa, three in Coron, and five in Sofronio Española, as of Wednesday noon.
LZB
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