CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (MindaNews / 16 July) – The city has been placed under Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) effective Friday until July 31, a development that came on the heels of pleas by local officials for more vaccines and experts to fight the Delta variant of COVID-19.
Palace spokesperson Harry Roque announced on national TV Friday noon the upgrading of the city’s quarantine status to the most restrictive level.
Mayor Oscar Moreno meanwhile asked the Department of Health (DOH) to send more vaccines to the city, which has become a battleground against the Delta variant.
“Only with more vaccines can we protect the residents of Cagayan de Oro,” Moreno said as he ordered the intensification of the vaccination in the city.
For his part, House Deputy Speaker Rufus Rodriguez (2nd district, Cagayan de Oro) asked the DOH and the COVID-19 Inter-Agency Task Force to send medical experts to help local authorities fight the Delta variant.
“Research says that (Delta variant) has mutations on the spike protein that makes it easier to infect human cells,” he said.
He also asked the IATF to strictly implement the quarantine measures to ensure the safety of the residents.
Also placed under ECQ is Gingoog City in Misamis Oriental, around 120 kilometers east of Cagayan de Oro.
Roque said the province of Misamis Oriental has been upgraded from the Modified General Community Quarantine to General Community Quarantine.
Moreno said during the daily press briefing on Friday that he had to meet with concerned government agencies on how to implement the strict quarantine procedures.
He said that for starters, he is not open to the idea of stopping public transportation because it would gravely affect the working residents in the city. (Froilan Gallardo/MindaNews)