TUGUEGARAO CITY – The Regional Inter Agency Task Force or RIATF has formally approved the request of the Tuguegarao City Local Government to grant their city a more relaxed quarantine status despite currently having 287 active cases.
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From midnight , 12:00 a.m. of February 4, the city will be under General Community Quarantine (GCQ) until midnight on February 10 despite the reservations expressed by the Department of Health Region 2.
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The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) however said the shift is necessary specifically to some business in the city.
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During a virtual press briefing , Mayor Jefferson Soriano said the city will open the transportation sector, with 20% of public tricycles being allowed to ply their routes under a color-coded scheme.
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Private tricycles and motorcycles will be allowed to travel only with immediate family members apart from delivering goods.
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Soriano plans to allow only 50% of government workforce to perform their duties eventhough under GCQ, government agencies are allowed to operate at 75%.
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Restaurants will be open only up to 50% capacity while the liquor ban will still be in effect.
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Curfew remains the same, from 10:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m.
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The ECQ here was supposed to end January 29, but was extended for five more days.
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The extension was made after the COVID-19 situation worsened in the city with the  City Health Officer noting that, from January 6 to January 20, there had been an average of 16 new COVID-19 cases, and from January 20 to January 28, the average number increased to 23.
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ECQ was first imposed in Tuguegarao City from 12:01 a.m. January 20 to midnight of January 29 after Mayor Soriano made the request to the RIATF when the number of active cases reached 246, mostly local transmissions in 30 barangays.