Health workers in Ilocos Norte continue to conduct aggressive contact tracing and swabbing amid the surge in COVID-19 cases. (Photo courtesy of Ilocos Norte provincial government)
LAOAG CITY—The town of Bangui in Ilocos Norte province has reverted to the stricter modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) starting Monday, June 21, as COVID-19 cases continued to rise, local officials said.
Bangui was previously under modified general community quarantine, the least restrictive quarantine classification in the country.
Under MECQ, the movement of people is limited to buying essential goods and services, while all forms of public gatherings are prohibited.
The local government also suspended the acceptance of returning residents to the town for two weeks.
On Sunday, the provincial government logged 63 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of active infections to 509.
Most of the active COVID-19 cases are found in the towns of Bangui (71), Bacarra (36), San Nicolas (60), Dingras (24), and the cities of Batac (25) and Laoag (172).
The province has recorded 3,277 cases since the pandemic began in March 2020, with 2,719 recoveries and 49 deaths.