Pasay mayor: Up to IATF to place city on ECQ due to rising COVID-19 cases

MANILA, Philippines — It is up to the government’s COVID-19 task force to decide if Pasay City will be placed under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) due to the rise in coronavirus cases, Mayor Emi Calixto-Rubiano said Thursday.

In an online media briefing, Rubiano said that while there are rising cases of COVID-19 in the city, the local government is doing its best to contain it.

“Parang nako-contain naman within the community yung cases at ang declaration po kasi ng city-wide ECQ will involve IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases),” Rubiano said.

(It seems that the cases are being contained within the community and the declaration of the ECA will involve IATF.)

The mayor added that upon getting word that the more contagious South African variant of COVID-19 was detected in Pasay, they already looked into the idea of placing the city under ECQ.

Former government adviser Dr. Anthony Leachon, on his Twitter account, earlier suggested that Pasay City should be on “total ECQ at the moment” due to the detection of the South African variant.

1. Pasay City should be on total ECQ at the moment pending resolution of surges and control of South African variants.This is urgent.

2.Sense of urgency needed for travel ban vs South Africa to prevent entry of the highly transmissible variants. This was flagged 3 weeks ago.

— Tony Leachon MD (@DrTonyLeachon) March 4, 2021

Currently, there are six cases of the South African variant in the country, of which four were detected in Pasay City. The Department of Health, meanwhile, classified the city as the “critical” risk classification for local government units.

Should Pasay City be placed under ECQ, Rubiano said that this will have an impact in the whole National Capital Region since the city is a “travel hub.”

Pasay City has the country’s main gateway, the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, as well as stations in both the MRT-3 and LRT-1.

“Yung domestic air travel will be canceled while international travel will be restricted,” she said.

(The domestic air travel will be canceled while international travel will be restricted.)

“Alam po ninyo na hindi ako nago-object kung gagawing ECQ ang Pasay per se but the other agencies and services must adjust accordingly at declaring ECQ is one thing but managing it is another matter. Kaya sa tingin ko po yan ay kailangan din maano po ang IATF,” she added.

(I don’t object to placing Pasay under ECQ per se, but the other agencies and services must adjust accordingly. Also, declaring ECQ is one thing but managing it is another. So I think it’s best to let the IATF decide.)

JE

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