Ilocos Norte

The fifteen (15) urban barangays in the Municipality of San Nicolas are back to General Community Quarantine (GCQ) status for 14 days after the town continues to record a surge in COVID-19 cases.

"We have come to an agreement that most of the barangays, especially in the town center, be placed under GCQ, and with some of the far-flung barangays that have low cases will remain under MGCQ," Governor Matthew Marcos Manotoc announced on April 5, 2021.

San Nicolas Mayor Alfredo P. Valdez Jr. released Executive Order No. 18 series of 2021, putting almost all barangays in the town under lockdown and containment.

Since April 5, 2021, some areas of the following barangays have been under lockdown: Sitios 2 and 5 Brgy.1 San Francisco; Sitio 3 in Brgy. 2 San Baltazar; Sitios 1, 2, 4, and 5 in Brgy. 3 San Ildefonso; Sitios 1 and 6 in Brgy. 4 San Bartolome; Sitio 1 in Brgy. 5 San Silvestre; Sitios 2, 5, and 6 in Brgy. 6 San Juan Bautista; Brgy. 7 San Miguel; Sitio 4 in Brgy. 8 San Rufino; Sitio 1 Brgy. San Lucas; Sitios 2, 3, and 7 in Brgy. 10 San Paulo; Sitios 4 and 5 in Brgy. 11 San Fernando; Sitio 1 in Brgy. 13 San Eugenio; Sitios 4, 5, 6 in Brgy. 14 San Gregorio; Sitio 4 in Brgy. 15 San Jose; Sitios 1, 3, 4, and 5 in Brgy. 16 San Marcos; Sitio 4 in Brgy. 18 San Pedro; Sitios 2 and 6 in Brgy. 19 San Lorenzo; Sitio 5 in Brgy. 20 San Pablo; whole area of Sitio 1 and a part of Sitio 4 in Brgy. 21 San Agustin; Sitio 6 in Brgy. 22 San Guillermo; Sitios 1, 5 and 6 in Brgy. 23 Sta. Cecilia; and Brgy. 24 Sta. Monica.

As of April 6, 2021, Ilocos Norte currently has 1,166 COVID-19 cases. There are 231 active cases, with 78 from San Nicolas.

Governor Manotoc urged local government leaders to increase community surveillance in order to prevent unnecessary mass gatherings, as well as to ensure that COVID-19 health and safety standards are followed in their jurisdictions.

"As we can see now in San Nicolas, one (social) event can lead to increased quarantine, to a lockdown, and a big headache for the whole community. We are hoping that we can all pay special attention to these super spreader events. We need to avoid it at all costs," Governor Manotoc added.

Moreover, the Task Force Salun-at is closely monitoring Bacarra town, after one positive patient infected six (6) of his primary contacts, all of whom are from different barangays in the town.

"May isang COVID-19 case sa Bacarra na naka-infect ng anim mula sa iba't-ibang barangay. Ang sanhi na naman nito ay pagtitipon. Ito po ang naidudulot ng social gathering sa atin. May this serve as a warning again na kung kinakailangan huwag na tayong pumunta sa ganitong okasyon," Provincial Health Consultant, Dr. Norman Rabago, appealed.

Late afternoon yesterday, Bacarra Mayor Fritzie D. Gapasin also issued Executive Order No. 2021-013, declaring lockdown and containment in some parts of Brgy. 1 Sta. Rita, Brgy. 6 San Pedro I, Brgy. 10 San Vicente, Brgy. 15 San Roque I, and Brgy. 27-A Pungto.

At present, the Task Force Salun-at is imposing a three-step containment strategy that includes household hard lockdown, aggressive contact tracing, and expanded testing, to limit the spread of COVID-19 infections.

This three-step containment technique was also used in Pagudpud and Solsona, where the outbreaks were successfully controlled in March 2021.

"Luckily, wala na tayong bagong kaso na naitala sa Solsona at Pagudpud for the past 14 days. Buti na lang nag-comply din ang mga tao. This only proves na kapag sama-sama tayo, there is hope for us to mitigate the spread of the virus," Dr. Rabago ended.