Pangasinan placed under MGCQ starting May 16

By Liezle Basa Inigo

DAGUPAN CITY –— Pangasinan will be placed under modified general community quarantine (MGCQ) from starting today (May 16) to 31 after the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Disease (IATF) amended the quarantine classification on Wednesday of the province and other low risk areas.

Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año said on Wednesday that the IATF amended Resolution No. 35 placing low risk areas from bo quarantine to MGCQ after local government executives (LCEs) petitioned to be placed back to community quarantine.

“Maraming mga LCEs, governors, mayors na nagsagawa ng petition at request na sinasabi nilang hindi pa sila handa para tanggalin ang community quarantine kaya magkakaroon po tayo ng amendment na pagtitibayin mamaya sa IATF meeting upang ang 37 provinces and 11 cities sa walong rehiyon, kasama ang Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) ay mailalagay sila sa modified general community quarantine,” Año said.

IATF will be issuing guidelines on MGCQ for the local government units to follow to stop the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

“Kasi kung wala nang quarantine ay ini-expect natin na baka magkaroon ng second wave or third wave, kaya wala na po tayong areas sa buong Pilipinas na hindi under ng community quarantine,” he noted..

The provincial government of Pangasinan had earlier appealed to the IATF screening and validation committee to place the province under General Community Quarantine from May 16 to May 31, 2020.

Gov. Amado Espino III wrote to IATF through Regional Director James Fadrilan of the DILG Region 1 and appealed that Pangasinan be placed under General Community Quarantine.

“While we understand that the people have already suffered much because of the stringent restrictions imposed by the ECQ and Pangasinan did not have any new COVID-19 positive case since April 24, 2020 or for 18 consecutive days, it is our position that certain restrictions should still be imposed in order to protect our gains against the dreaded disease,” he said.

Espino said that the provincial government is grateful for IATF’s recognition of its effective management of the COVID-19 crisis.

“As of May 12, 2020, Pangasinan, including Dagupan City, recorded a total of 39 confirmed cases of COVID-19, nine of whom died, while 27 have recovered. The remaining three, while still confined in a hospital, are on their way to recovery,” Espino said.

Pangasinan has listed and monitored a total of 98,473 suspect and probable cases, the biggest number obtained in the entire country.