CAR eyed for GCQ due to rising COVID-19 cases, UK variant

The Department of Health (DOH) and the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) are considering elevating the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) from Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ) to General Community Quarantine (GCQ) to curb the spread of COVID-19.

This consideration was planned even before the detection of 13 UK variant cases from 326 samples submitted by DOH-CAR to the Philippine Genome Center.

The UK variant is a concern due to its high probability of transmission, which could further increase active cases in the region.

DOH-CAR regional director Dr. Ruby Constantino noted that the region is categorized as 'high risk' with a two-week growth rate of 199 percent and an average daily attack rate of 8.32 per 100,000 population.

Sixteen local government units (LGUs) in the region are classified as critical epidemic areas, with Mountain Province being the only province nationwide under this critical category.

The region recorded 850 new cases from January 18 to 22, with a record high of 350 cases on January 18.

As of January 22, CAR has a total of 10,737 cases, with 1,693 active cases.

Three UK variant cases are currently confined at Luis Hora hospital, and one case in La Trinidad, Benguet is at a temporary treatment facility.

The IATF may reconsider the stricter quarantine classification if provincial and municipal LGUs increase their available COVID-19 beds.