A health worker in Vigan City takes a specimen from a local resident living in one of the critical COVID-19 zones. Photo courtesy of Vigan LGU.
LAOAG CITY, Philippines —Health authorities in Vigan City in Ilocos Sur province have extended the imposition of the stricter modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) until June 19, citing the need to contain the continuous spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the past two weeks.
On May 22, the city was placed by Ilocos Sur Governor Ryan Singson under a two-week MECQ after a “rapid increase in the number of COVID-19 cases” was recorded by health authorities.
Vigan Mayor Juan Carlo Medina said on June 2 that the local COVID-19 task force recommended to the provincial government the extension of MECQ as the implementation of “swift and concerted actions” were still needed to protect local residents. The recommendation, which was approved by Singson through executive order no. 46, came after health officials logged 31 new infections on May 31, the highest number of COVID-19 cases recorded in the city in a single day.
The imposition of MECQ, which is the second most stringent quarantine classification in the country, in Ilocos Sur’s capital city was supposed to be lifted on Saturday, June 5.
Despite the imposition of stricter quarantine rules, the number of active cases in Vigan doubled in the past two weeks. The city only had 59 cases on May 23, but it climbed to 138 cases as of June 3, according to local health data.
Local health authorities recorded additional 12 cases on June 4, said Medina.
The city’s most populated areas were considered as “critical zones” for being high-risk areas of COVID-19 spread. These included Barangay III (Planta) and Barangay San Julian Norte, according to Medina.
On June 1, the city government temporarily converted Vigan’s public market as a community pantry that offered “vegetables, dressed chicken, meat, and condiments intended for one week to affected families under the critical zones.”
Medina pleaded to Vigan residents to “forego leisure travels momentarily as we try to contain the transmission [of COVID-19].”