Ilocos Norte Capitol (Photo courtesy of PIA)
MANILA – The quarantine classification in Ilocos Norte has been elevated to stricter modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ), Malacañang announced on Tuesday.
Ilocos Norte will be placed under MECQ beginning Sept. 7, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in a virtual presser.
“Ang Ilocos Norte po ay nasa MECQ mula sa September 7 to 30 (Ilocos Norte has been placed under MECQ from September 7 to 30),” Roque said.
Ilocos Norte was initially placed under general community quarantine (GCQ) with heightened restrictions until the end of September.
Most of the towns in Ilocos Norte have been put under localized lockdowns following the rise in coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) infections in the province.
Apart from Ilocos Norte, the provinces of Apayao, Bataan, Bulacan, Cavite, Rizal, Laguna, and Iloilo, as well as the cities of Lucena, Iloilo, and Cagayan de Oro have also been placed under MECQ.
Guidelines on localized lockdowns
On Monday, Roque announced that the quarantine status in Metro Manila will be downgraded to regular GCQ from Sept. 8 to 30, but localized or granular lockdowns will be piloted in the country’s metropolis.
Roque said members of the Inter-Agency Task Force of the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) will meet on Tuesday afternoon to finalize the guidelines on the localized lockdowns in Metro Manila during the GCQ period.
He said the extensive details of the localized lockdowns still need to be ironed out.
He added that IATF-EID will also take into consideration the inputs from local government units.
“So ‘yung mga tanong po sa detalye ng granular lockdown, huwag na po muna nating itanong dahil apparently, pinaplantsa po. Meron pa pong pinaplantsa at gustong magkaroon ng final meeting ang IATF (So do not ask first about the details of the granular lockdowns. We are still ironing out the guidelines and IATF will have a final meeting),” Roque, also acting as IATF-EID spokesperson, said.
Roque expressed hope that the new strategy to impose granular lockdowns will help stop the further transmission of Covid-19.
“Talagang marami pa ring mga kaso kaya nga po tayo maga-attempt ng bagong istratehiya, itong localized lockdown na mas mahigpit (There are still many cases, that’s why we are attempting to have a new strategy, and that is to have a stricter, localized lockdowns),” he said.
Roque said he might hold a “special” press conference either after the IATF-EID’s meeting or on Wednesday, once the guidelines on granular lockdowns have been finalized. (PNA)
