Isabela records hike in COVID-19 as quarantine eased

CAUAYAN CITY, Isabela – Coronavirus infections increased on Saturday (Jan. 2) just as Isabela province reverted back to a modified general community quarantine (MGCQ).

The province recorded 46 new COVID-19 patients, 32 of them in Cauayan City, according to health officials.

Isabela was originally among the local governments that would remain under a general community quarantine (GCQ), the strictest version of the community lockdown which gripped the province from Dec. 16 to 31 due to mounting cases.

But Malacanang eased Isabela’s quarantine when Isabela Governor Rodolfo Albano III appealed its GCQ status.

The new patients tested positive before Isabela transitioned to MGCQ on Saturday.

The Isabela health office says seven of the new cases were recorded in Luna town, three cases in Santiago City, two cases in the City of Ilagan and one case each in the towns of San Mariano and San Pablo.

The new infections raise the number of active cases to 226.

Among the patients receiving treatment is a “returning Overseas Filipino,” 12 health workers, 27 police officers, five described as Non-Authorized Persons Outside Residence (Non-APORs), and 181 who were exposed to the disease in their respective neighborhoods.

Fifteen patients have recovered from the virus.

Since March, Cagayan Valley, which includes Isabela, has recorded a total of 5,156 COVID-19 cases as of Jan. 1. The region has 82 fatalities.

JPV