Contrary to news reports, Quirino is Covid-free.
This according to Department of Health-Cagayan Valley for Health Department (DOH-CV CHD) Director Dr. Rio Magpantay, who in an August 6 letter to Quirino Gov. Dax Cua, apologized for reports stating that there are Covid cases in the province.
Magpantay, who is also the DOH regional director for Region 2, said that “upon review of our official records of cases, there is/are no evident positive cases of Covid-19 yet reported for the said province.”
DOH-CV CHD is the lead agency for health in Region 2, and is responsible for disseminating information regarding Covid-19 cases.
The same information was posted by the Philippine Information Agency-Region 2 Facebook Page, which states “nanatiling Covid-19-free pa rin ang lalawigan ng Quirino tali was sa mga kumakalat na Baliat, ayon kay DOH Regional Director Dr. Rio Magpantay.”
“Aniya, sa buong rehiyon, ang mga probinsya ng Batanes at Quirino ay kapwang Covid-19-free pa rin.”
In separate news reports based on data from the DOH website, Batanes was cited as the only province without Covid-19 cases.
Reached for comment, Cua said he welcomed the clarification, but stressed that the province “would remain vigilant to ensure Quirino residents are safe from the Covid-19 virus.”
“The province would remain vigilant to ensure Quirino residents are safe from the Covid-19 virus.”
Cua, who is also the President of the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP), also urged the DOH to work on ironing out issues in the collection of data regarding Covid-19.
“For policy-makers like myself, accurate data is essential in order for us to come up with appropriate action.”
“For policy-makers like myself, accurate data is essential in order for us to come up with appropriate action. Naiintindihan ko naman kung may mga konting problema sa datos dahil sa dami ng trabaho ng DOH. I am confident that they will address this and continue to do all they can to contain this outbreak.”