Apayao is the only local government unit (LGU) in the Cordillera to remain under modified enhanced community quarantine even as Baguio and Apayao remain under general community quarantine and the rest under modified GCQ.
Apayao joins 20 other LGUs, 12 of which from Mindanao including Davao City, under MECQ in the new quarantine classifications released by the Inter-agency Task Force for the month of July.
Apayao, however, will be under MECQ until July 15.
Apayao has the second least number of Covid-19 infections in the region with 1,593 of the 39,753 cases accounting to a mere four percent. Abra is the only Cordillera LGU with less cases, 896 or 2.25 percent.
Baguio, which has the lion’s share of cases at 14,017 or 35.26 remains under GCQ along with Ifugao which has 4,541 cases according to the Department of Health – Cordillera or 11.42 percent and the fifth most in the region.
Benguet (9,308 or 23.41 percent), Kalinga (4,770 or 12 percent) and Mountain Province (4,628 or 11.64 percent) along with Abra levels down to MGCQ, with Benguet and Abra having been under MECQ sometime in the past three months.
Meanwhile, the number of Covid-19 fatalities had gone down in the past weeks, the City Health Services Office observed.
CHSO head Dr. Rowena Galpo attributed this to efforts to seek out and vaccinate the most vulnerable population.
Galpo showed the city only had 13 deaths from June 1 to June 22 down from the almost three deaths a day in April.
Earlier, Mayor Benjamin Magalong made the 65-years and above high risk age group as priority in vaccinations to prevent more deaths.
The city was able to fast track vaccinating this high risk age group through the help of the Association of Barangay Councils (ABC) led by president Councilor Michael Lawana and the district health centers by locating said residents and were convinced to take the shots.
Magalong said that apart from seeking early consult, vaccination is one way to curb the high incidence of death among COVID-19 patients.
Galpo said the city’s fatality rate has decreased to 2.04 percent with only three deaths from June 2 to 9.
Last May 10, the city recorded its highest fatality rate at 2.09 percent with 247 deaths out of 11,814 cases.
For June, the city has recorded 1,600 new cases or 55 a day against a recovery of 1,603 (55 a day) against 18 deaths. The city nears the 14,000 mark with 13, 959 cases against 13,099 recoveries. There are 579 active cases.
April was the most toxic with 3,046 confirmed cases for that month alone or about 102 cases a day, against recoveries of 2,536 or about 85 a day. There were 82 deaths for the month alone or 2.73 deaths a day.
