KALIBO, Aklan – People should take the coronavirus pandemic more seriously. It is time to reduce caseloads with stricter measures and effective contact tracing to curb the spread of the virus, stressed Aklan governor Florencio Miraflores.
Aklan shifted to general community quarantine (GCQ) from modified general community quarantine (MGCQ) beginning July 1.
On Monday, President Rodrigo Duterte approved the recommendation of the National Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases placing Aklan under GCQ due to rising cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
As of June 30, Aklan had 1,408 active COVID-19 cases and 77 deaths.
The province has 51.23 percent hospital care utilization and a high average daily attack rate (ADAR) of 9.56 percent and -8 percent two-week growth rate (2WGR).
On June 28, the positivity rate was at 27 percent with 60 new infections out of 216 specimens tested.
2WGR is the rate of growth of cases over the 14-day period.
ADAR is the number of new cases in the province over a two-week period, divided by the population of the province.
“This is a wake-up call for all of us. We should come together and follow the public health standards,” Miraflores said.
Residents were reminded to sustain the mitigation strategies of wearing face coverings, hand-washing and distancing to control the pandemic.
GCQ, the third of the four lockdown levels, limits the movements of people in accessing essential goods and services from permitted establishments.
Individuals below 18 years and adults above 65, those with immunodeficiency, comorbidity and pregnant women are required to stay at home at all times.
Karaoke bars, clubs, bars, concert halls, theaters and cinemas, Internet cafes, billiard halls, amusement arcades and bowling alleys, casinos, cockfighting and operation of cockpits, kiddie rides, theme parks, fairs/peryas are not allowed to operate.
Religious gatherings, wakes, inurnment, and funerals are permitted up to 30 percent of the venue capacity, while visits to cemeteries, memorial parks and columbarium are limited to not more than 10 persons per group and not exceeding 30 percent of the venue capacity.
Last month, Aklan was under modified GCQ./PN
