KALINGA – The provincial Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) has endorsed to the regional IATF a request to place Tabuk City under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), and four Kalinga towns under modified ECQ (MECQ).
Provincial Legal Officer Ken Martinez said the request to place Tabuk under ECQ is expected to be approved by the regional IATF, and could be implemented on Monday, January 25.
Kalinga Governor Ferdinand Tubban has already posted a public advisory, informing his constituents that the provincial government will be imposing a 14-day ECQ in Tabuk City, and MECQ in the towns of Rizal, Lubuagan, Tanudan and Balbalan.
General community quarantine (GCQ) will be imposed in Pasil and Tinglayan towns, and modified GCQ (MGCQ) in Pinukpuk.
The PIATF said, these areas were classified following the Containment Strategy Matrix provided by the National Task Force and area Health Risk Level Matrix.
The Department of Health (DOH) in Cordillera said the region was now classified under High Risk Epidemic Level, as of January 20, with the recent surge in the number of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in the different parts of the region.
Based on report, the region recorded a Two-Week Growth Rate (2WGR) of 199 percent, and an Average Daily Attack Rate (per 100,000 population) of 8.32.
Kalinga and Mountain Province are currently under Critical Risk Epidemic Level; Apayao, Benguet, Baguio City, and Ifugao are under High Risk; and Abra under Moderate Risk.
The DOH also reported that the towns of Balbalan, Lubuagan, Pasil, Rizal, Tanudan, and Tabuk City in Kalinga were among the 16 places in the region classified as critical epidemic areas.
The other areas classified as critical were the towns of Besao, Bontoc, Sabangan, and Sadanga in the Mountain Province; Atok, Itogon, Kapangan, Mankayan in Benguet; and Hungduan and Kiangan in Ifugao province.
The report added that the reasons for the increase of COVID-19 cases in the region included people going to crowded places, in close-contact setting and confined spaces; clustering in a mining camp in Balbalan, and church events in Rizal, Kalinga, as well as the increase in infection among health care workers which was observed in all the provinces.
Mobility of persons who are possible carriers of the virus cases from high-risk areas going to low-risk areas, border control issues and the observance of cultural practices -- wakes, engagement party, family gatherings of the community where elders were the preferred visitors -- were also seen as possible reasons in the spike of cases in the region.
Kalinga Provincial Hospital Chief Dr. Marilyn Tubban-Duyan advised the public that all the clinical departments in the hospital, to include the Medicine, Pediatrics, Surgery, Orthopedics, and OB-GYNE departments, will be on partial lockdown starting January 22 until further notice.
Duyan said, 11 out 65 hospital personnel identified as close contacts of two COVID-19 positive cases were recently confirmed as positive for the virus.
She said with the imposition of said lockdown, the hospital will only cater to patients classified as extreme emergency cases.
Extreme emergency cases whether suspect, RT-PCR positive or Rapid Antigen Test (+) be managed accordingly until the patient is referred to higher center, while the OB-GYNE, orthopedic and surgery patients who are positive will be first stabilized before referral.
Out-patient department consultation will be limited to follow-up check ups of previously admitted patients and OB-GYNE patients with complications.
No surgical procedure will be done for elective cases until further notice.
All patients for admissions must undergo Rapid Antigen Test, including one watcher who must stay for the whole duration of the patient's hospitalization.