ENHANCED QUARANTINE. Following the confirmation of the first case of 2019 coronavirus disease in Caraga Region, Governor Dale Corvera of Agusan del Norte, who chairs the Regional Development Council of Caraga and the Regional Inter-Agency Task Force on Covid-19, announces the declaration putting the entire region under the enhanced community quarantine. Health officials say the first Covid-19 patient in the region is in stable condition. (PNA file photo)
BUTUAN CITY – Following confirmation of the first case of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) in the region, the Caraga Regional Task Force on 2019 coronavirus disease placed the entire region under an enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) effective Monday (April 6).
The decision was reached by the region's top policymakers after a virtual meeting Monday, said Agusan del Norte Governor Dale Corvera, who chairs the task force and also heads the Regional Development Council (RDC).
Cordera, who announced the declaration hours after the meeting, said the ECQ will be in place "until revoked".
He said the meeting was participated in by governors, mayors and representatives from different line agencies of the government, including the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) whose personnel will be tasked to enforce the ECQ.
"We need your cooperation and sacrifices while we are under the enhanced community quarantine because this is for our own good,” Corvera said in the dialect.
Under the ECQ, Corvera said all Caraga residents are required to stay in their homes. He said the movement of people will be limited to only one person per household, who will only be allowed to go out to buy basic necessities.
Corvera clarified that there will also be exemptions under the ECQ, particularly those stipulated in the guidelines set by the national Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on Covid-19.
He said public transport in the region will be suspended while establishments will also be asked to close temporarily under the ECQ.
Corvera said establishments that will be allowed to operate are also indicated under the guidelines set by the national IATF.
On Monday, DOH-13 Director Jose Llacuna said the region's first Covid-19 case has earlier been classified as a patient under investigation (PUI).
The PUI, a resident of Butuan City is currently admitted at the Caraga Regional Hospital (CRH) in Surigao City and in stable condition, Llacuna said. (PNA)
