March 29, 2024

The provincial government of Apayao, together with the National Task Force (NTF)-Covid-19, continues to search for persons who are Covid-19 carriers.
In a social media post, the provincial government said it started its five-day aggressive community testing last Aug. 24 covering identified high-risk barangays in Flora and Sta. Marcela.
Each of the seven municipalities was included in the RT-PCR testing the Bases Conversion Development Authority, Bureau of Fire Protection, Department of Health, and the Office of Civil Defense are implementing.
Separate swabbing centers were earlier set up by the Municipal Inter-Agency Task Forces in coordination with the Provincial IATF targeting 7,000 individuals.
The provincial advisory said two days before the aggressive community testing, target barangays for specimen collection were placed under total lockdown until the results are released. There were 43 barangays identified where residents are mandated to undergo testing.
From Aug. 13 to 25, the province recorded a total of 1,320 Covid-19 cases that placed the whole province under category level 4 requiring immediate action to increase the capacity of its quarantine and isolation facilities.
The Department of Health Covid-19 tracker released on Aug. 25 showed Apayao has a total of 951 active cases compared to the region’s total of 2,598.
All seven municipalities in the province have been placed under level 4 with bed occupancy for its hospital care placed under 93.94 percent utilization. Apayao has 64 isolation beds.
The DOH also reported the local government unit established 24 temporary treatment and monitoring facilities with 1,060 beds, which is currently with 45.47 percent utilization.
Gov. Eleonor Bulut-Begtang placed Luna under enhanced community quarantine from Aug. 25 to Sept. 8 to curb the rising number of Covid-19 cases.
Records show the town has recorded a total of 984 cases since the pandemic started last year, with 292 active cases. – PNA