2 more Kalinga towns revert to MECQ

TUGUEGARAO CITY, Cagayan, Philippines — Two towns in Kalinga will revert to modified enhanced community quarantine while two other areas in the province will be on extended MECQ starting tomorrow.

The Cordillera Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases or IATF said Pinukpuk and Tinglayan would be under MECQ until Feb. 15.

The MECQ status in Lubuagan and Tanudan will be extended, also up to Feb. 15.

Regional IATF chairperson Araceli San Jose said the stricter community quarantine was based on the Jan. 4 to 29 health risk level matrix and containment zoning strategy assessment.

Pinukpuk, which is under modified general community quarantine or MGCQ, recorded no active coronavirus disease 2019 case as of Jan. 24.

However, as of Feb. 5, the town logged 31 active cases.

Tinglayan’s active cases rose from 19 on Jan. 24 to 28 on Feb. 5.

The town was placed under MECQ last year when it recorded 225 COVID-19 cases.

The regional IATF had earlier extended the ECQ in Tabuk City to limit the movement of people and allow authorities to conduct extensive contact tracing.

Tabuk, which has 184 active cases before it reverted to ECQ on Jan. 24, has 229 cases as of Friday.

Kalinga recorded a total of 399 active cases.

Cockpits resume operations

Meanwhile, in Eastern Visayas, areas that are under MGCQ are now allowed to resume operations, according to Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG)-Northern Samar office director Danilo Laguitan.

During a meeting with Gov. Edwin Ongchuan and town mayors on Thursday, Laguitan clarified that certain conditions must be complied with, such as no live crowd and betting.

He said mayors in cooperation with the police should monitor the reopening of cockpits and submit monthly reports to their respective DILG regional offices. – Miriam Desacada