Gov’t task force to probe surge of Covid-19 cases in Leyte

FILE: Interior Secretary Eduardo Año on Friday (Oct. 11, 2019). (PNA photo by Joey O. Razon)

MANILA – The government would look into the rise in coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases in Leyte after the return of some overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and locally stranded individuals (LSIs) there, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said on Wednesday.

“Lilipad kami ni (National Policy Against Covid-19 chief implementer) Sec. Carlito Galvez papuntang Tacloban kasi isa rin problema natin ngayon ang Leyte, biglang nag-surge doon. May mga dumating doon na LSIs at OFWs na pinagmulan ng spike (I and Sec. Carlito Galvez will fly to Tacloban because one of the problems now is Leyte, there is a sudden surge of Covid-19 cases. There are LSIs and OFWs who came there, thus the spike in Covid-19 cases),” Año said in a radio interview.

Año said they will talk to local government officials on what the national government could do to respond to the health crisis.

He added that protocols such as a mandatory 14-day quarantine should be implemented for the returning OFWs and LSIs.

Some of the LSIs sneak into the province without undergoing the protocol, Año said.

“Kaya maghihigpit din tayo ngayon sa mga LSI (That’s why we will be strict now on LSIs),” Año added.

Covid-19 cases in Eastern Visayas have increased nearly 10 times in the past three weeks, raising concern over depleting resources to combat the pandemic in the region. From 40 cases on June 1, the number surged to 396 as of June 21.

Eastern Visayas consists of the provinces of Leyte, Southern Leyte, Samar, Northern Samar, Eastern Samar, and Biliran.

Meanwhile, Año said more security forces would be deployed in Cebu City which has been reverted to the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).

“Magdadagdag pa tayo ng pulis dito pati kagawad ng Armed Forces (of the Philippines) para makatulong dito kasi nakita natin na kailangan talaga ma-quarantine ‘yung mga tao sa kanilang mga bahay kasi malaki ‘yung numero eh, nasa 4,000 ang active cases natin dito (We will deploy additional police and AFP forces to help because we see the need for the people to be under quarantine in their homes because we have a big number. We have around 4,000 active cases),” he said.

At least 10 barangays in the city that have the most number of Covid-19 cases are considered placed under “hard lockdown” for the strict implementation of quarantine protocols down to the village level.

These barangays are Mambaling, Cebu City Jail area, Luz, Labangon, Suba, Kamputhaw, Tejero, Sambag 2, Duljo-Fatima, and Basak San Nicolas.