Before President Rodrigo Duterte placed the entire Central Luzon under general community quarantine (GCQ), Bataan Governor Abet Garcia said mayors unanimously voted for a 15-day extension of the province’s placement under modified enhanced community (MECQ), as its newly-certified testing center has yet to operate.
“Nag-meeting kami ng mga mayors… and all of them requested na i-extend pa yung MECQ ng Bataan, kasi padating pa lang ‘yung local testing capacity ng Bataan na kakabigay lang ng certification,” Garcia said in a virtual briefing. yesterday.
“Gusto muna naming malaman how it goes with more test results kung ano talaga ang trend before we make an educated, rational decision, Garcia added.
The province recently acquired a reverse transmission polymerase chain reaction (PCR) machine for its testing center at the Bataan General Hospital and Medical Center, which can yield 100 to 200 test results per day.
Aside from Central Luzon, Metro Manila, Cagayan Valley and Calabarzon regions, and the provinces of Pangasinan and Albay will also transition to GCQ on June 1. The rest of the country will be placed under modified GCQ.
Bataan has 150 cases of Covid-19 as of May 29 with 134 recoveries and eight deaths. (John Ezekiel J. Hirro)