La Trinidad, Benguet – The provincial government will support the implementation of stringent restrictions on the movement of people and placing the province under modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) to help in containing the ongoing surge in Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases that already overwhelmed the local health care system.
Gov. Melchor D. Diclas stated that the continuous increase in the number of COVID-19 cases being reported in the different parts of the province daily has already overwhelmed the local health care system and that the province can no longer handle future surges in cases as there will be no available facilities for the isolation requirements of the patients.
He pointed out that he will comply with the decision of the inter-agency task force for the management of emerging infectious diseases on the future community quarantine status of the province because there is really a significant increase in COVID-19 cases in the province daily as a result of the emergence of the Delta variant.
The governor claimed that the basis for the declaration of the community quarantine status of local governments is the number of cases being recorded daily, aside from the health care utilization rate, to avoid the local health care system from being overwhelmed, thus, the cooperation of the people on the implementation of the restrictions on their movement to cut the chain of transmission of the virus among households.
At present, Benguet is under general community quarantine (GCQ) up to the end of the month following the surge in COVID-19 cases that started late last month.
For the past several days, the number of daily COVID-19 cases being reported in the province have increased to an average of 320 that caused the different health facilities and isolation centers to reach their maximum capacity.
While concerned government agencies and the local governments are doing their best to prevent the local health care system from collapsing, Diclas stipulated that the people also play a key role in containing the surge in COVID-19 cases by complying with the ongoing implementation of the prescribed minimum public health standards that will ensure their health and safety.
According to him, the ongoing surge in COVID-19 cases triggered by the emergence of the Delta variant has really stressed the frontliners
He expressed hope that the situation will get better in the coming weeks following the implementation of the restrictions on the movement of the people to help decongest the health facilities and isolation centers.
The province has now 3, 126 active COVID-19 cases and 363 deaths.
(RPN DZBS Baguio NEWS TEAM)