One of the stranded individuals bared that he rented private vehicles along with his friends just to travel from Quezon City back to Pangasinan, but, all were denied entry because they all lack travel authority from the PNP.

“Ang sinabi po doon sa barangay na pinanggalingan namin, pwede na naming gamitin ‘yung medical certificate at travel pass,” Alvin Buan, said noting that they were not aware that they still needed to secure the travel authority.

Buan, on the other hand, stated he is grateful for this program of the provincial government because finally he can go back to his hometown in Bolinao where his family resides.

Buan and all other stranded individuals who completed 7 days or so at the border underwent RT-PCR swab test conducted by the Provincial Health Office on the same day before returning to their respective local government units (LGUs).

These 23 stranded individuals comprised the 5th batch who were assisted by the provincial government through its Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (PDRRMO).

Stranded individuals were fetched by their respective LGUs and were brought to their quarantine facility for further monitoring.

The stranded individuals of the fifth batch were composed of Pangasinenses from: Anda (1), Asingan (2), Bayambang (1), Bolinao (3), Burgos (1), Mangaldan (1), Natividad (3), San Manuel (1), San Quintin (2), Sta. Barbara (3), Umingan (1) and Villasis (1).

It can be recalled that the first batch of stranded individuals at Rosales-Tarlac border composed of 46 Pangasinenses were assisted on May 7 while another set of 59 Pangasinenses went home on May 13. In the third batch, 52 Pangasinses were able to enter the province on May 26 and another 49 were assisted on May 31.

The provincial government has also assisted stranded Pangasinenses in other border points, like Mangatarem-Tarlac border on May 8 with 20 Pangasinenses and another batch with 19 Pangasinenses on May 13.

Meanwhile, the PDRRMO also distributed 40 relief packs to the remaining stranded individuals at the border.

/Shiella Mae C. De Guzman (Photos by Ron Bince)

According to Provincial Health Officer Anna Maria Teresa De Guzman, the number can be attributed to the strategy applied by the provincial government which is the “active case finding.”

“Minabuti ng provincial government na mag-active case finding. Sinusuyod po natin ang buong probinsya. Sinusuri ang mga mild PUIs and PUMs managed by the LGUs,” Dr. De Guzman said as she added that on the earlier stage of the pandemic, the patients are the ones being sent to hospitals.

For the second wave of the expanded mass testing, the provincial government targeted the frontline hospital workers, local health officers (doctors, nurses, midwives, ambulance drivers), PNP personnel, risk reduction staff, Bureau of Fire Protection personnel among others.

The provincial government are still waiting for the results, however.

The City of Dagupan and the Municipality of Sual are also conducting mass testing and yielded 14 and 4 cases, respectively. Of the 14 cases in Dagupan City, 12 are from the chartered city and two from San Fabian and San Carlos City.

As disclosed by the provincial health officer, all positive Covid-19 cases are “asymptomatic” which means that they manifested no symptoms of the virus. Contact tracing was immediately held right after.

Based on the latest report of the Provincial Health Office, there are a total of 69 positive cases as of June 7. Of the number, 47 are from different towns and three cities of the province while 22 are from Dagupan, a chartered city.
As such, the new cases which rose to 10 last weekend came from the following: Sual-4; Agno-4; Agno-1; and Alaminos City-1. Most of the confirmed positives are frontliners and drivers of ambulance and rescue vehicles.

Although the mass testing yielded less than 1percent positivity rate, Governor Amado I. Espino III said that the provincial government cannot be complacent over the result.

“Binibilinan po natin ang ating mga kababayan na mag-ingat pa rin po tayo dahil di pa po tapos ang problema sa laban natin dito sa virus na ito,” he said as he added that inasmuch as the provincial government is finding ways on how to properly address the current situation, other projects and activities for health are on deck especially during the onset of rainy season when flu and dengue are prevalent.

In addition, Gov. Espino disclosed that the economic team of the provincial government is currently contemplating on more livelihood opportunities for Pangasinenses to augment their income.

“Nagmi-meeting ang economic team ng provincial government para pag-usapan ang augmentation sa mga LGUs para naman magkaroon man lang ng konting kita ang mga kababayan natin sa panahon ng Covid-19,” he disclosed.

The economic team is composed of various offices in the provincial government notably the Provincial Treasurer’s Office, Provincial Budget Office, Provincial Accountant’s Office, Provincial Planning and Development Office, Provincial Engineering Office, Provincial Agriculturist Office, Provincial Tourism and Cultural Affairs Office, Provincial Population, Cooperative and Livelihood Development Office, Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office, Provincial Assessment Office, Provincial Veterinarian’s Office, Provincial Employment Services Office.

To fine-tune the socio-economic recovery plan for Pangasinan to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, series of earlier meetings facilitated by Provincial Administrator Nimrod S. Camba and PPDO Chief Benita Pizarro were conducted. (Ruby R. Bernardino)

“Resilience is what gives us psychological strength to cope with stress and hardship, like the Philippine Flag- raising high, the resilience of Calasiaoeño Spirit may always emerged in our hearts regardless of the devastating impact of the CoVid19 pandemic. With our unity in prayers, compliance with all the directives and protocols and remaining resilient, we will heal as one”, Mayor JAB stated.

1 from Alaminos City. A member of Philippine National Police (PNP) who was assigned in Bani, Pangasinan. The patient is from Sitio Sadsaran, Brgy. Poblacion. The patient was tested last June 3, 2020 during the mass testing conducted in Bani. The patient is asymptomatic.

1 from Mabini. A 37 years old male from Brgy. Tagudin. The patient was among the residents examined during mass tests conducted last June 3, 2020. He is asymptomatic.

Confirmed Cases/Tested Positive: 63
Recovered: 33
Confined: 21
Died: 9

CONFINED: 21
12 DAGUPAN CITY (CALASIAO & MANGALDAN WERE INCLUDED HERE)
1 SAN FABIAN
1 SAN CARLOS CITY
3 ALAMINOS CITY
1 SANTA MARIA
2 AGNO
1 MABINI

RECOVERED: 33
2 MALASIQUI
1 POZORRUBIO
3 BAYAMBANG
2 ROSALES
4 URDANETA CITY,
1 BUGALLON
1 INFANTA
3 ASINGAN
1 STO. TOMAS
9 DAGUPAN CITY
1 ALAMINOS CITY
1 BINALONAN
2 LINGAYEN
1 LAOAC
1 SUAL

DIED: 9 (from BAYAMBANG, ROSALES, URBIZTONDO, BASISTA, MALASIQUI, LINGAYEN, SAN FABIAN, DAGUPAN CITY, ALAMINOS CITY)

SOURCES:
PROVINCIAL HEALTH OFFICE