EXTENDED LOCKDOWN. Mayor Michael Keon has extended indefinitely the lockdown at the Laoag City Public Market and Commercial Complex until contact tracing and targeted testing for Covid-19 are completed. There are currently 159 active cases of coronavirus in Laoag. (PNA file photo by Leilanie G. Adriano)
LAOAG CITY – Mayor Michael Keon here has extended the lockdown of the Laoag City Public Market and Commercial Complex effective Dec. 5 until further notice.
In his Executive Order MMK-076, series of 2020, Keon said there is a need to extend the lockdown to complete the ongoing contact tracing and expanded targeted coronavirus disease (Covid-19) testing in the city.
The expanded targeted testing aims to cover 10 percent of the total population per barangay including at least one representative per household, according to Dr. Norman Rabago, provincial consultant on Covid-19.
The lockdown of the Laoag City Public Market and Commercial Complex since Dec. 1 could have ended on Saturday but due to unfinished testing, it was extended indefinitely.
“We request the public to temporarily buy from talipapas (mini market) nearest you while observing health protocols,” Keon said in a public statement on Sunday.
As of this posting, Laoag City has recorded 159 active cases of Covid-19 and 101 of them are inmates at the Ilocos Norte Provincial Jail. Some are market vendors and employees of the City Hall and Capitol.
The City Health Office said of the 236 total cases in Laoag, 77 have already recovered.
Meanwhile, the city government is requesting locally stranded individuals to reschedule their return to the city due to lack of quarantine facilities as of the moment.
While Laoag City is under indefinite localized modified enhanced community quarantine, home quarantine is not permitted under the guidelines. (PNA)
