No city-wide quarantine in Marikina amid 5 confirmed cases

Marikina will not enforce a city-wide quarantine despite having five confirmed cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Marikina Mayor Marcelino Teodoro said all positive cases were residents of a house who are already quarantined in a subdivision in the city, according to Ivan Mayrina's Friday report on 24 Oras.

"Dahil may early detection tayo ay na-isolate agad natin 'yung buong area'ng 'yon. Naka-target tayo sa isang specific area, kaya mahalaga 'yung mga reporting na ginagawa ng mga barangay natin,"  Teodoro said.

As they are anticipating a rise in cases in the next three to four weeks per the advice of experts, the city government will implement aggressive testing of its residents.

The city has already ordered 3,000 COVID-19 testing kits from the Manila HealthTek Inc.

These are the GenAmplify COVID-19 detection kits made by experts from the University of the Philippines National Institute of Health and the Philippine Genome Center.

"Papa-revalidate pa rin naman natin sa RITM, based on the protocol ng DOH, pero sa atin ang mahalaga, initially may action tayo at nakita natin positive, dadalin agad sa medical facilities paara magamot," Teodoro said.

"Hindi natin pinapangunahan o nilalaktawan ang protocol ng DOH. Pero sabi ko nga, kailangan natin magkaroon ng ganitong mga initiative para makatulong tayo sa containment measure," he added.

The quarantine facility of the city has also been prepared should the cases increase.

According to the report, some countermeasures against the COVID-19 were already being implemented by Marikina prior to the "community quarantine" directive for Metro Manila.

The local government has begun the disinfection of city halls, schools, and public areas while its community sanitizing cannon was reportedly ready if needed. —Joahna Lei Casilao/LDF, GMA News