Marawi gov’t wants stricter lockdown for city

HEALTH MONITORING Movement in Marawi City is relaxed under a modified general community quarantine but local officials want stricter health and security measures imposed due to local transmission of COVID-19. —DIVINA SUSON

MARAWI CITY, Lanao del Sur, Philippines — Local officials have asked the national task force overseeing the government response to the coronavirus pandemic to elevate this city’s risk category from modified general community quarantine (MGCQ) to the stricter modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) to control the spread of the virus.

The request sent to the National Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, through Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, came after the integrated provincial health office of Lanao del Sur declared a new round of local transmission in the province.

In the past week, 21 cases of local transmission were recorded, with three deaths. Of these, 14 are residents of Marawi City, the provincial capital, who are undergoing treatment at Amai Pakpak Medical Center, said Dr. Alinader Minalang, provincial health officer.

Among the patients are two doctors, a nurse and a driver of one of the vans that fetched returning residents from the airport.

Marawi Mayor Majul Gandamra said while the local government was strict in implementing minimum health standards, the movement of residents was relaxed compared to other areas with stricter quarantine rules. “This makes the city vulnerable to the spread of the virus,” he said.

The mayor said the proposal to elevate the quarantine category of the city came from health professionals and medical front-liners.

As of Aug. 10, Lanao del Sur and Marawi City recorded 208 cases, 26 of which are active. —WITH A REPORT FROM FROILAN GALLARDO