EMPTY ROAD. A portion of the road leading to Tarangnan town in Samar. With 15 confirmed Covid-19 cases in the town, Mayor Arnel Tan in a letter on Wednesday (May 13, 2020) asked the national government for an extension of the enhanced community quarantine. (Photo courtesy of Tarangnan fire station)
TACLOBAN CITY – With 15 confirmed cases of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) in Tarangnan, Samar, its mayor has asked the national government for an extension of the town’s enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).
In a letter to Office of Civil Defense Regional Director Lord Byron Torrecarion, chairman of the Regional Inter-Agency Task Force on Covid-19 and Samar Governor Reynolds Michael Tan dated May 13, Mayor Arnel Tan said they are worried about the latest declaration of the national government downgrading the region’s community quarantine classification.
“While the latest declaration is a relief from the almost two months of community quarantine and would allow the general public to go back to their normal activities, including travel to and from their desired destinations, we are very worried that this might increase the number of Covid-19 cases in Tarangnan, as people will surely converge, interact, and socialize,” Tan said in the letter.
He has asked the regional task force to allow the local government to extend the ECQ until May 18 and place the town under general community quarantine (GCQ) from May 19 to May 31.
“(This is) to ensure the conclusion of mass testing to isolate patients who could be Covid-19 (positive) and contain the spread of the virus,” Tan added.
In the letter, he said if the result of the mass testing is favorable, they would lift the GCQ on June 1. The test covered 451 residents who interacted with infected persons.
“There is no need to rush. Our situation will get worst if we’re hit by the second wave of this pandemic,” Tan added.
"I can’t make a reckless decision considering that the problem in my town started with one positive case and now we have the most Covid-19 confirmed cases in the region, ” he said.
Tarangnan, a fourth-class town, has 15 positive Covid-19 cases, the most affected area in the region by the health crisis.
Of the 15 persons infected in Tarangnan, only two have fully-recovered and were integrated back to their community.
The first two cases were workers of the Tarangnan Community Hospital who caught the virus from a co-worker in Calbayog City, a doctor assigned at the town’s health facility.
Eight of the 15 Covid-19 infected persons in town are hospital staff while others are their relatives.
Eastern Visayas has recorded 20 cases since March 23. (PNA)
