Bataan Governor Albert Garcia is appealing for eased quarantine restrictions in the province due to the decline in the number of active coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases.
Garcia said the provincial Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on Covid-19, which he chairs, has submitted a request to the regional IATF regarding this matter.
Bataan is under modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) until the end of October, based on the latest quarantine classification list released by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID).
“Bunga ng patuloy na pagbaba ng mga active cases sa Bataan, kasama ang pagbaba ng antas ng bed ward, emergency room at intensive care unit utilization sa mga ospital, minabuti ng provincial IATF na ihain sa regional task force ang mungkahing luwagan ang quarantine restrictions sa ating lalawigan (As a result of the continuous decline of the active cases in Bataan, including the decrease level of bed ward, emergency room and intensive care unit utilization in the hospitals, the provincial IATF has filed to the regional task force the recommendation to loosen the quarantine restrictions in our province),” the governor said in an official social media account post on Thursday.
He said the move seeks to give an opportunity for his province mates to open their businesses involved in the accommodation, tourism, leisure, and personal services which were badly affected by the ECQ and MECQ.
“Nais nating kahit paano ay maibsan ang hirap at matugunan ang pangangailangang pangkabuhayan ng ating mga kababayan (We want in a way to alleviate the hardships and to respond to the livelihood needs of our provincemates),” Garcia added.
The provincial government is still awaiting the decision of both the regional and national IATF.
As of Wednesday, the province has logged 1,194 active cases, a significant drop from 2,983 cases recorded on October 1.
The number of confirmed infections in the province has reached a total of 28,635 after 62 new cases were reported.
Meanwhile, 132 new recoveries brought the total recovery count to 26,326.
An additional four new fatalities raised the province’s Covid-19 death toll to 1,115.
Source: Philippines News Agency
