MANILA – Western Visayas remains under modified general community quarantine (MGCQ) for 28 more days.
In Friday’s virtual presser, the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) announced the latest quarantine classifications of this city, Negros Occidental, Bacolod City, Capiz, Aklan, Antique, Guimaras, and Iloilo province for the entire month of February.
President Rodrigo Duterte approved IATF-EID’s recommendation, according to Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque.
This will be the second straight month for Iloilo City to be under a less stringent community quarantine status and already the third for Bacolod City.
Iloilo province, Negros Occidental, Guimaras, Aklan, Antique, and Capiz had been under MGCQ since June.
Iloilo’s sole component city of Passi, however, shifted to enhanced community quarantine due to a sharp increase in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases.
From seven on Jan. 25, cases ballooned to 116 on Jan. 28 – so far Passi City’s highest single-day count.
These additional infections also pushed to 22,976 the cumulative COVID-19 cases in Western Visayas since recording started in March last year.
The region had been under varying levels of community quarantine since the pandemic started – enhanced community quarantine, general community quarantine and MGCQ.
The IATF-EID earlier agreed in principle to use the “new normal” qualification with the government already finalizing guidelines, including the “dos and the don’ts.”
It considered placing areas under the “new normal” classification areas that does not have COVID-19 transmission in the past month.
The “new normal” classification used to be the fifth and lowest quarantine classification in the country until the IATF-EID removed it in June.
Under the new normal, travel and business restrictions are lifted but minimum health standards must be observed./PN