LAOAG CITY, July 29 (PIA) – The province of Ilocos Norte reverts to Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ) beginning August 1 until 15 to curb the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases.

During the Talk to the Nation aired late night on July 28, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte has approved the imposition of a province-wide MECQ following the appeal of Governor Matthew Marcos Manotoc due to rising COVID-19 cases being recorded each day.

Earlier in the afternoon, Manotoc tells the public during his press briefing that he received a confirmation from Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año on the approval of his appeal.

Manotoc also laid down strategies of the provincial government guided by Department of Health’s (DOH) Prevention-Detection-Isolation-Reintegration (PDIR).

“In terms of Prevention, the regional PNP (Philippine National Police) has sent us 40 new officers to help in the implementation of safety protocols and monitoring of the movement of people,” said Manotoc.

The public is also enjoined to report individuals who have breached community quarantine protocols through a COVID-19 hotline provided by the provincial government.

“I’m also hoping that our citizens can start reporting regarding 'yung mga breach of protocols. We will share it sa social media kung saan sila pwede mag-report,” added Manotoc.

In terms of Detection, the DOH will be sending resources to increase testing capacity of the province as the governor requested from DOH Secretary Francisco Duque.

The provincial government is also determined in helping Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital and Medical Center (MMMHMC) in Batac City, which serves as the COVID-19 referral hospital of the province, by establishing multiple field hospitals to accommodate more patients for treatment.

This includes the Batac Cultural Center which was built by then 2nd District Representative Imelda Marcos.

For Isolation, Manotoc said “We have distributed 200 tents na galing sa OCD (Office for Civil Defense). DepEd (Department of Education) also released a memorandum, allowing us to use their schools with their approval as isolation and vaccination centers as well.”

With vaccination being intensified and fast-tracked, the province has vaccinated a total of 47,856 for the first dose while 22,701 are now fully vaccinated, according to Provincial Health Officer Dr. Josephine Ruedas.

During the Network Briefing News (NBN) on July 29 anchored by Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar, the mayor of Tudela, Cebu also shared the ongoing vaccination roll out in their area.

“In the beginning, we had a very low turn out even if we picked them up at each barangay; the rate of denial was high. But we changed strategies and pushed hard at the purok level through our information and education campaign. This resulted in a higher rate of our constituents availing of the free vaccination from the national government,” said Tudela, Cebu Mayor Greman “Jojo” Solante.

NBN is a regular news program organized by PCOO, Philippine Information Agency (PIA), and Radyo Pilipinas which runs from Mondays to Friday at 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. (JCR/AMB/MJTAB, PIA Ilocos Norte)