Ilocos Norte
LAOAG CITY—Ilocos Norte has recorded 566 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, August 13, the mostin a single day in the province since the pandemic broke out last year, according to latest records from the provincial government.
The fresh cases brought the total number of COVID-19 cases in Ilocos Norte to 11,675, including 4,295 active infections, 7,224 recoveries, and 156 deaths, the provincial government said Saturday.
Of the 23 towns and cities in the province, 16 areas were tagged as ‘red zones’ for having at least 61 active infections, with the capital city of Laoag having the most number of active cases at 1,161.
On Friday, the Department of Health (DOH) said Ilocos Norte remained under COVID-19 alert level 4 due to rising infections and a healthcare utilization rate higher than 70 percent.
Ilocos Norte has the highest average daily attack rate (Adar) at 46.19 per 100,000 population, compared to other provinces in the Ilocos region, according to the DOH’s COVID-19 tracker.
Alarmed by the rapid spread of the virus, Ilocos Norte Governor Matthew Marcos Manotoc said in a statement on Friday that he sought for the imposition of enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), the most strict containment classification, in the entire province from August 16 to 31.
The province has been under modified ECQ, the second most strict quarantine classification, since August 1.
The same quarantine classification was extended on Friday by the national COVID-19 task force until August 31.