Policemen in Batac City, Ilocos Norte set up a quarantine checkpoint as the city reverts to enhanced community quarantine beginning Aug. 3. (Photo courtesy of Batac City police station)
LAOAG CITY—Batac City in Ilocos Norte province is the latest area to be placed under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), the strictest form of quarantine, beginning Tuesday (Aug. 3) due to a surge in COVID-19 cases, officials said.
Other areas in Ilocos Norte that were also placed on ECQ since Aug. 1 are Laoag City and Pagudpud town.
Batac City has the second highest number of active COVID-19 cases in the province, which accounts for 12 percent of the 3,378 active infections logged so far.
Laoag City, identified as one of the COVID-19 hotspots outside the National Capital Region, has 1,024 active cases while Pagudpud has 141, according to the provincial government.
For the next two weeks, residents in the three areas would need to comply with the reimposed health protocols and stay-at-home orders. Like last year’s hard lockdown, only one member of every household shall be allowed to go out to access essential goods.
Policemen had also started setting up boundary checkpoints to ensure that only authorized persons would be allowed to enter and exit the city. Nonessential gatherings have also been completely banned, including religious services.
Col. Christopher Abrahano, Ilocos Norte provincial police director, said in a press briefing on July 31 that the entire police force had been placed on “full-alert status.”
A province-wide curfew has also been reinstated from 9:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m. and police officers were tasked to patrol the streets and apprehend violators, he said.
As of Monday, Ilocos Norte has logged at least 8,568 total COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began last year, including 5,064 recoveries and 126 deaths.