TABUK CITY, Kalinga – City officials lauded the residents for their sustained adherence to the strict implementation of the prevailing enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) guidelines to contain the spread of the dreaded Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) guidelines in the city.
Earlier, the city inter-agency task force for the management of emerging infectious diseases placed the city under ECQ following the recent surge in the number of COVID cases, aggravated by the limited health facilities, to help contain the spike in cases among the residents.
The clamor to place the city under ECQ emanated from the barangay officials and strongly recommended by city health authorities because of the continuous increase in the number of individuals testing positive for the deadly virus.
Mayor Darwin C. Estrañero stated that only 10 to 15 percent of the residents are going out of their homes daily based on the observation of frontliners who are managing the various checkpoints around the city.
He added that barangay officials are now actively involved in the monitoring of their constituents who should be out of their homes through the issuance of quarantine passes to ensure that only one individual per household is allowed to attend to the essential needs of their families.
The city chief executive claimed there is no food shortage in the city with the steady influx of food supply from neighboring provinces that have not been placed under ECQ and that the market is still open for the food requirements of the residents, provided that, only one person per household will be allowed to go out of their homes.
According to him, people are now concerned for their health and safety and that they understand the reason why the government has been constantly reminding them to comply with the basic health and safety protocols.
Mayor Estrañero emphasized that the city inter-agency task force will continue to evaluate and assess the day-to-day situation in the city to guide the members in deciding whether or not to shorten the declaration of the city under ECQ that will allow the local economy to recover from the effects of the community quarantine to their economic activities and sources of livelihood over the past ten months.
The city mayor appealed to the residents to patiently adhere to the basic health and safety protocols as he believes this is still the best way of preventing people from contracting the virus while awaiting for the implementation of the mass vaccination program.
He pointed out that the implementation of the ECQ will also help address the influx of individuals passing through the backdoor without undergoing the required triaging in the city’s central triage center and this was identified as one of the major causes in the spike in COVID cases in the city over the past several weeks.
The mayor stipulated the ECQ will also facilitate contact tracing of the individuals that had contact with those who tested positive for the deadly virus. By HENT
