CAR, Davao may be placed under tighter quarantine
Two regions may be placed under tighter community quarantine if their COVID-19 cases and critical care capacity reach critical level, a Palace official warned yesterday.
According to presidential spokesman Harry Roque, authorities are closely monitoring the coronavirus situation in Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) and Davao region.
"What will determine the new classification is still the attack rate and the critical care capacity. So far, two regions ang nasa moderate o papalapit na sa moderate ‘yung isa. Ang nasa moderate ngayon ay ang CAR tapos ang Region 11 ay papalapit na rin sa moderate (So far, two regions are placed on moderate level or the other one is nearing moderate level. CAR is moderate now while Region 11 is nearing moderate)," he said during a televised press briefing.
“Kapag umabot ‘yan sa critical (When it reaches critical level), that will really be a factor in escalating community quarantine classifications in these two areas,” he said.
Roque said that any change in quarantine classification would not be implemented on a national scale. "It would be on a local basis," he said.
The Palace official admitted that there has been a “surge” in coronavirus cases in the country following the observance of the holiday season. He renewed his appeal to the public to continue to follow health measures to limit the spread of the illness.
For now, Roque said he would not preempt the decision of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) on the country's risk classification for the month of February. He said the Department of Health is expected to present the latest coronavirus data in the next meeting of the task force.
As of Jan. 20, the Cordillera region has recorded 10,392 cases of infections based on the Department of Health tracker. The top places with the most number of cases are Baguio City and Benguet with 4,605 and 3,828, respectively. In terms of bed availability in CAR, 63.3 percent or 407 of the 643 beds are occupied.
In Davao region, the cases of coronavirus have so far reached 15,911 with 2,672 active cases, 12,767 recovered, and 472 deaths. An estimated 57.7 percent or 723 of the 1,252 total beds are occupied in the region based on the DoH records.