𝗟𝗗𝗡- 𝗜𝗠𝗧 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗩𝗮𝘅𝘅 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗜𝗗 𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀

TUBOD, LANAO DEL NORTE- Provincial Governor Imelda 'Angging' Quibranza Dimaporo presided the first meeting of Lanao del Norte's Incident Management Team on January 24, 2022, held at the Governor's Conference Room, Gov. Arsenio Quibranza Building, Pigcarangan. 

LDN - IMT convened to discuss updates, concerns, and actions regarding COVID 19 cases in the province following the recent announcement of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF), which escalates Lanao del Norte to Alert Level 3 from Alert level 2, starting last January 21 to 31. 

"Our province is tagged under Alert level 3 due to our increasing active cases as well as the average daily attack rate and bed utilization of confirmed positive cases," Ms. Abeliza Manzano, the PDRRM officer, said. 

" As of January 23, we have recorded a total of 193 confirmed active cases in which the municipalities of Lala and Linamon have the highest record. The recent data shows a big difference/gap from the active case last January 1, which is only 7. Unfortunately, the records of our confirmed cases mostly consist of unvaccinated patients,"  Dra. Marujeta Opamen, the Provincial Health Officer, reported. 

"Now that we are in Alert Level 3, our approaches in public health and economic gains that have been achieved must be sustained. I will appeal for the support of Local Chief Executives to intensify the global immunization campaign and strengthen our monitoring process in the community", Governor Dimaporo said. 

The LDN IMT proposed the adoption of the Alert Level System, aligning the province's ordinances. The team also discussed the importance of regulating the mobility of unvaccinated individuals and recommends imposing regulations requiring vaccination and identification cards on various establishments, markets, and government offices. The proposal will still be subject to further review for other different considerations. 

As of January 22, over 239,922 (46.57%) of our population were fully vaxxed, and there are still 251,547 unvaccinated individuals in the province. With the increasing positive cases and low vaccination rate, the Provincial Government will be conducting a Provincial Vaccination Day on February 8 to 10. 

Meanwhile, Governor Dimaporo also clarified the spreading news about lockdowns and said, "We have not issued an ordinance to put the entire province in lockdown. At this point, we need to tighten our measures to prevent the surge of these cases, especially the spread of this highly transmissible variant, the Omicron".

The Provincial Chief Executive also highlights the importance of imposing fair treatment and procedure in various border checkpoints in the province. She said, "All public and private transportations must follow our guidelines upon entering our borders. We need to help each other and cooperate. This is for the safety of everyone". 

Under Alert Level 3, establishments or activities shall be allowed to operate or be undertaken at a maximum of 30% indoor venue capacity for fully vaccinated individuals only and 50% outdoor venue capacity, provided that all workers of the establishments are fully vaccinated against Covid-19. Intrazonal and interzonal movements are still allowed. However, reasonable restrictions may be imposed by the LGUs, which should not be stricter as those prescribed under higher alert levels and subject to the oversight, monitoring, and evaluation of the respective Regional IATF.  PIO-LDN