MANILA, Philippines — The provinces of Pampanga and Batangas, which are outside the general community quarantine (GCQ) bubble, should also be monitored due to the fast and upward trend of its COVID-19 cases, the OCTA Research group said Wednesday.
“We’re also seeing an upward trend sa Pampanga and sa Batangas. Actually mabilis yung upward trend nila [their upward trend is significantly fast]. For example sa Batangas, the increase was almost 100 percent or I think more than 100 percent compared to the previous week,” OCTA member Dr. Guido David said in a televised briefing.
“I think this has to be monitored closely especially since they are outside the bubble and it could be problematic if we contain the virus inside the bubble pero may kumakalat din outside the bubble [spreading is also observed outside the bubble]. We have to look into this,” he added.
Only Metro Manila, Cavite, Laguna, Rizal and Bulacan are the areas inside the GCQ bubble until April 4.
Among the measures revived in the GCQ bubble were barring non-essential travel to and from these areas, prohibiting religious gatherings, and imposing a common curfew from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. excluding workers.
READ: FAQs: What’s a GCQ bubble?
As of March 23, the Batangas Public Information Office (PIO) said its province recorded 13,217 COVID-19 cases of which 1,021 are active while Pampanga’s PIO said its province has 9,043 COVID-19 cases of which 999 are active.
Various border points in Batangas were already tightened in light of the new quarantine measures in its neighboring provinces Laguna and Cavite.
In Pampanga, a “household lockdown” until April 5 was imposed to prevent more cases of COVID-19.
The local government instructed households to stop receiving visitors, to identify only two persons to buy the family’s essential goods, and to stop family members below 18 and over 60 years old from leaving homes.