Isabela mayors seek ECQ; Pasil not ready for GCQ

By Raymund Catindig

Saying they are not ready to shift to general community quarantine (GCQ), mayors in Isabela are pushing for the extension of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in the province.

The mayors reached a consensus on Monday to seek an extension, citing the importance of life preservation over economic recovery.

Isabela Gov. Rodolfo Albano III said the ECQ should not be lifted unless there is mass testing for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the province.

Meanwhile, residents of Pasil town in Kalinga are not yet prepared to shift to general community quarantine (GCQ), according to Mayor Alfredo Malannag.

Malannag said the local inter-agency task force on COVID-19 stressed the need to prepare isolation facilities, logistics, food supplies and guidelines for the planned Balik Probinsya program once the ECQ is lifted.

He said around 700 Pasil residents stranded in Manila are expected to return.

Barangay officials said they were not able to prepare quarantine facilities due to lack of materials because hardware stores were closed.

Malacañang classified Kalinga as among the low-risk areas and eligible to shift to GCQ on May 1.

Cagayan Gov. Manuel Mamba had earlier pushed for an extended ECQ in the province.

Authorities expressed concern on a looming community transmission after a new case was recorded in Barangay Remus in Baggao town.

The latest patient is meat vendor Warlito Mateo, 60.

Glenn Mathew Baggao, head of the Cagayan Valley Medical Center where Mateo was confined, said it should be determined how the patient contracted the disease.

Capt. Reynaldo Viernes, Baggao police chief, said Barangays Remus and Tallang, where the patient engage with meat buyers, were placed on lockdown.

Viernes said an undetermined number of villagers were brought to isolation facilities.

Mateo is among the four new COVID-19 patients in Cagayan Valley. The region was declared COVID-free last week after its remaining patient has recovered.