The Provincial Government of Palawan welcomes the decision of the national government in excluding the province from the second extension of the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) in some areas of Luzon, downgrading it to General Community Quarantine (GCQ) category.
As expected due to its low number of COVID-19 cases, the Province of Palawan has been placed under the category of GCQ by the Inter-agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease (IATF-EID) yesterday.
In a phone interview, Provincial Information Officer Winston Arzaga lauded the Palaweños for their warm support in the implementation of health and security protocols as part of the measures in containing the spread of the Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).
“Natutuwa ‘yung leadership ng Provincial Government…Napakababa po talaga ng incidents dito, ng transmission ng Corona Virus at ito ay patunay lang ng mainit na pagsuporta ng ating mga kababayan,” Arzaga said.
Starting May 1, a more relaxed measure will be implemented in Palawan and in the City of Puerto Princesa, but government officials remind the public that there are still health measures to be observed.
As stated in the pronouncement of the chief executive and the guidelines to be issued on April 27 by the concerned government agencies, places under GCQ will expect that their public transportation will resume but in reduced capacity, citizens may allowed to go out but only for accessing basic necessities, colleges may continue classes, curfew and checkpoint will be still present, and sectors belonging to categories I, II and III may continue to work in phases.
Despite of the upcoming less strict measure, Arzaga reminds the public that wearing of mask, observing physical distancing and the use of 70 percent alcohol are still mandatory health measures.
‘LEGITIMATE CONCERNS’
In response to some negative reactions of the netizens stating that shifting the measure from ECQ to GCQ is “too risky” and “not a good idea” when implemented without the mass testing, Arzaga said that the Capitol understands their sentiments.
“Legitimate concern ‘yan kaso kailangan lang timbangin ang concern ng ordinary citizens na kailangang maghanap-buhay. Kailangang ‘yung farmers natin, makalabas, ang mga fishermen natin, makalabas, para mangisda at para kumita,” he said, and added that the local government has now started to put up four testing centers in the Province of Palawan.
With the GCQ, Arzaga stated that the Provincial Government is waiting for all the guidelines from the concerned agencies on how to implement an inter-town travel as the public transportation will resume next month, and other matters pertaining to it.
He also explained that under the relaxed measure, international flights or even domestic flights is still not yet allowed, except for cargoes.
And upon the announcement of GCQ, netizens were very eager to know if the plebiscite for the division of Palawan will still be pushed through. Arzaga answered that all they can tell as of the moment is to wait for the issuance of the Comelec for the new date of plebiscite that originally set on May 11. It was suspended by the Commission last March 25 in order to fully focus in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemics.
OTHER MIMAROPA PROVINCES PLACED IN GCQ
In Mimaropa Region, aside from Palawan, the Provinces of Romblon and Marinduque are also included in GCQ category, although Marinduque will be monitored until April 30 due to its moderate risks situation.
Oriental and Occidental Mindoro, including the City of Calapan, are still under the extended Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) until May 15 because they are classified as high risks based on the number of their confirmed COVID-19 cases.
The implementation of ECQ in Luzon was first put to place last March 17, and upon the recommendation of the IATF-EID, it was extended until April 30 but in the continued surge of COVID-19 confirmed cases in the entire country, the government came up to another measure, depending on the status of each provinces, whether it would be lifted, or modified or a more relaxed measure.
BACKED-UP BY DATA FROM UP COVID-19 PANDEMIC RESPONSE TEAM
Meanwhile, the current pronouncement of the national government is backed-up by the research conducted by the “University of the Philippines COVID-19 Pandemic Response Team” that was shared by Board Member Ryan Maminta recently.
A map of the province was provided and it shows that it has less than 80 percent probability or outbreak threshold that according to UP team could be a basis to include Palawan under a modified community quarantine category.
“The recommendation on the ECQ after Luzon-wide lockdown ends on April 30, successful as it may seem, [but] an ECQ covering a wide area may not be sustainable over a long run. Prolong restrictions at the movement of goods and services over a large area can unnecessarily paralyze local economies,” the studies say.
The team says that a province whose number of cases is at least equal to the estimated outbreak threshold should implement the ECQ but the province that has cases less than 75 percent of the estimated outbreak threshold may not declare a CQ at all, but only to continue or sustain information efforts, general and social distancing, testing and contact tracing, including home quarantine for probable cases and hospitalization for patients needing care.
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