Kalinga Temporarily Shuts Doors From Its Returning Residents

August 24, 2020 JUST IN

BAGUIO CITY (August 24, 2020) – Kalinga province has temporarily stopped residents from returning home starting Monday (August 24).
Lasting  until September 2, 2020, the Province of Kalinga will not accept locally stranded individuals (LSIs) after the August 19, 2020 Kalinga Provincial Inter-Agency Task Force’s (PIATF) request for a 10-day moratorium for returning LSIs.  This is to manage the overcrowding of Corona Virus Disease (Covid-19) patients in isolation units and for contact tracing purposes.
As of August 23, 2020, the province records 48 active cases, though there are 49 recoveries from the total 89 confirmed cases according to the Department of Health (DOH)- Cordillera.
According to the Kalinga PIATF, Kalinga on June 10 and 11, 2020 recorded its first two “imported” Covid cases.   The two were a returning Overseas Filipino Worker and an LSI.   And on July 27, a local transmission in the province was confirmed.
On August 13, there was a sudden surge of confirmed cases of infection after a religious gathering in Tabuk City.   The cases went up to 60 that date. This resulted to the overcrowding of isolation units in Tabuk City and other municipalities of Kalinga with positive cases, suspected infected kndividuals awaiting swab test results and LSIs serving quarantine period.
The temporary halting of accepting LSIs will give ample time for the overwhelmed health workers ro better perform their mandate and to de-clog the overcrowded healthcare facilities and isolation units of the province.
Artemio A. Dumlao