Iloilo readies for ‘modified’ GCQ on May 16

By Joseph B.A. Marzan

Iloilo province is ready to move into the Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ) on May 16, 2020 in recognition of the continued threat of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

The province’s decision followed the clarification by the national Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) that all parts of the country are still under community quarantine.

Department of Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año on May 13 announced that areas categorized as ‘Low Risk’ under Resolution No. 35 of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID), which includes Region 6, should be placed under MGCQ.

This is a reversal of Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque’s announcement on May 12 that areas under the ‘Low Risk’ category may lift their existing Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) or GCQ.

According to Department of Health (DOH), classification of risks are based on their Case Doubling Time, or the length of time that the number of cases accelerate, and their Critical Care Utilization Rate, or the rate at which the capacity of healthcare facilities in the area are utilized.

Low Risk areas have a Case Doubling Time of more than 30 days, and a Critical Care Utilization Rate of less than 30 percent.

Iloilo province is set to end its ECQ on May 15 after its extension from April 30 via Executive Order (EO) No. 110.

The extension was upon recommendation by the IATF-EID.

The ECQ had already been extended from its original expiry on April 14 via EO No. 102 which was issued on April 8, due to the growing number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the province as well as recommendation by the IATF-EID.

The province was initially placed under a GCQ on March 15 via EO No. 028-C. The ECQ was then imposed on March 20 via EO No. 080.

Prior to the DILG Secretary’s announcement, Governor Arthur Defensor Jr. met with all mayors on May 13 to discuss the direction of the province.

In a press conference, the governor said that the mayors reached a consensus to place the province under the MGCQ once the ECQ ends.

“We met with the mayors to get their pulse on what they think we should do, because they’re the ones on the ground. When you implement quarantine procedures, you base its sustainability on the situation of the people. The mayors know that. Also, the economy of the province starts at the municipalities. So, we consulted on the direction that we see will be good for the province. So the mayors came to a conclusion that we should move towards a general community quarantine,” Defensor said.

He said that he and the mayors agreed that they needed to understand more of COVID-19, and the MGCQ would give them ample time to do so.

He added that the MGCQ was the best course of action they saw to continue combatting the disease in the province.

“Firstly, we are of the same view that the epidemiology of COVID-19 is not conclusive, so it is best to understand it so we know what actions we will take. Second, like us, they want to protect our gains. Our COVID-19 situation right now, is an effort from us and from our mayors. We don’t want to abruptly stop the measures. What happened in other countries may then happen to us, wherein they relaxed their measures and then a sudden spike in confirmed [COVID-19] cases occurred,” he said.

Defensor said he will sign the new EO on the MGCQ on May 15.

DOH data as of May 13 indicated that Iloilo province logged 18 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with three active cases, 11 recoveries, and four fatalities.

In a press briefing on Wednesday, the IATF-EID said the entire Philippines will remain under community quarantine, albeit in different levels, until the end of May 2020.

Areas classified as “low risk” for the coronavirus outbreak by the government’s inter-agency task force (IATF) on pandemic response will be placed under modified general community quarantine starting May 16, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said.

Año said the task force would amend its May 11 resolution that stated that areas classified as “low risk” for the coronavirus outbreak would “no longer be under community quarantine” by May 16.

The resolution declared 37 provinces, and 11 cities, including Western Visayas, as “low risk” areas which “shall no longer be under community quarantine, without prejudice to strict observation of minimum health standards.”

An amendment will come as local officials expressed apprehensions on the total lifting of community quarantine protocols in their area, Año said.

“All areas of the Philippines will have community quarantines,” Año said in a Palace press briefing.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, whose signature was in the resolution, said there was an “honest mistake” as to the part that the community quarantine would be lifted in some areas.

Implementing a modified general community quarantine will allow local officials to keep powers to contain the spread of the virus in their respective jurisdictions, Año said.

“Our local chief executives will have guidelines how to implement a modified GCQ so that they can still have powers to contain the spread of the virus,” he added. (With a report from ABS-CBN News)