IATF says Laguna remains under ECQ until Aug. 20
MANILA, Philippines — The enforcement of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in the province of Laguna will now last until August 20 and not just August 15, the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) said.
This was relayed by Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque on Saturday, who said the IATF arrived at the decision after the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) consulted with the local governments of Laguna about the COVID-19 situation in their respective areas.
“[IATF] has extended the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) of Laguna until August 20, 2021, upon the recommendation of the Department of the Interior and Local Government and after consultation with the local government of Laguna,” Roque said.
Laguna was one of several areas outside Metro Manila that were placed under ECQ due to an uptick in COVID-19 cases, along with Bataan, Iloilo, and Cagayan de Oro.
READ: Laguna, Iloilo City, CDO to be under ECQ starting Aug. 6 to 15
The ECQ was supposed to end on August 15, with Malacañang even saying that the three areas — Laguna, Iloilo, and Cagayan de Oro — would be de-escalated to a modified ECQ (MECQ) starting August 16.
READ: Laguna, Iloilo City, Cagayan de Oro City under MECQ from Aug. 16 to 31
“Laguna was initially placed under ECQ until August 15, 2021, de-escalated to Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ) beginning August 16 until August 31, 2021, until this present amendment of reverting to ECQ status,” Roque said.
According to Roque, putting Laguna back under ECQ will slow down the increase in COVID-19 infections.
Earlier, an OCTA Research paper showed that Santa Rosa City in Laguna is fifth in the country in terms of average daily attack rate (ADAR), with 32.32 of every 100,000 of its population at risk of getting COVID-19.
Other Laguna towns also landed on OCTA Research’s top 40 list, like San Pedro (16th, 23.86), Biñan (20th, 22.53), Calamba (30th, 18.87), and Cabuyao (31st, 18.81),
“This latest ECQ re-classification was made to maximize its effects, slow down the surge of COVID-19 cases, further stop the spread of variants and improve health system capacity to protect more lives in the aforesaid area,” Roque said.
“This is in pursuant with Executive Order 112 giving authority to the IATF to impose, lift, or extend a community quarantine in provinces, highly urbanized cities, and independent component cities,” he added.
Earlier, the Department of Health (DOH) COVID-19 bulletin showed that the country once again broke its record for the highest single-day jump in cases, with new infections at 14,249 on Saturday.
This means that the active case count is now at 98,847.
READ: DOH: New COVID-19 cases hit 14,249; active cases near 100,000-mark
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