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ILOILO CITY—Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor Jr. on Thursday announced he would not increase restrictions amid a rise in COVID-19 cases in the province in the past weeks.
Economic recovery now weighs heavier in making pandemic response-related decisions, he said during a press conference.
“Our economy now weighs heavier. We’re just now recovering. The whole country is just recovering,” Defensor said.
Defensor said the local government had anticipated the rise in COVID-19 cases in the province that started in June, since it was the “flu season.”
He said they continued to manage distancing and visitor entry to the provincial capitol and mandate testing, contact tracing, and work-from-home arrangements for employees exhibiting even mild symptoms.
He said the province was still amplifying COVID vaccinations for the public, calling it one of the “foremost defenses” against the disease, aside from observance of minimum public health standards.
Iloilo Provincial Health Office data as of July 13 indicated that the province had 580 new COVID cases from June 26 to July 12.
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