21 towns, cities in Ilocos Norte revert to ECQ

With the surge in COVID-19 cases in Ilocos Norte, a hospital in the province has converted its outdoor ramps and hallways as temporary waiting areas for patients who are waiting to be admitted. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO.

LAOAG CITY— At least 21 of the 23 towns and cities in Ilocos Norte province will revert to a two-week localized enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), the most restrictive quarantine classification in the country, starting Monday, August 16, officials said.

Except for the cultural towns of Adams and Carasi, the cities of Laoag and Batac, and the towns of Bacarra, Badoc, Bangui, Banna, Burgos, Currimao, Dingras, Dumalneg, Marcos, Nueva Era, Pagudpud, Paoay, Pasuquin, Piddig, Pinili, San Nicolas, Sarrat, Solsona, and Vintar have been placed under ECQ.

In an executive order issued on Saturday, Ilocos Norte Governor Matthew Marcos Manotoc said that the imposition of a rigid quarantine measure was necessary due to the “continuous upsurge of COVID-19 cases” in the province.

Most of the Delta variant cases recorded in the Ilocos region so far have been traced among patients in Ilocos Norte, with 12 total cases as of Aug. 13.

“This is what we’ve been fearing and anticipating all along. This isn’t the same virus we’ve dealt with in the past. Even nationally, regionally, globally, cases are on the rise [due to the Delta variant],” the governor said in a separate statement.

The province also 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 Department of Health’s COVID-19 tracker.

In the past weeks, Ilocos Norte’s health system has been feared to collapse, as public and private hospitals have been bursting at the seams and more health workers have been infected with the virus.

At least 160 health workers in Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital (MMMH) in Batac City, the major COVID-19 treatment center in the province, had contracted the virus as of Friday.

According to the DOH, two of the biggest public hospitals in Ilocos Norte, the provincial hospital in Laoag City and MMMH, are still under a “high risk” level of COVID-19 bed occupancy with 78.7-percent of the 207 total beds occupied.

While the 21 areas are under ECQ, the movement of residents will be limited only to accessing essential goods and services, and individual exercise.

“Only one member of each household is allowed to access essential needs during their designated schedule,” according to Manotoc.

A province-wide liquor ban and curfew hours shall also be imposed from 9 p.m. to 4.a.m. the following day.

Nonessential gatherings are also disallowed, including religious ones which will only be limited through online activities.

Restaurants and food outlets will only be limited to take-out and delivery services, while gyms and personal care services would not be allowed to operate, the governor said.

/MUF