TACLOBAN CITY – Guiuan town in Eastern Samar province has extended its lockdown for another 14 days to control the movement of people amid the threat of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
Mayor Annaliza Gonzales Kwan signed Executive Order No. AGK 01-81, extending the border lockdown starting Wednesday midnight for the disease surveillance and tracing of suspected carriers.
The local government imposed the lockdown on Dec. 30 to stop the rising cases of Covid-19.
“This was the recommendation of Guiuan inter-agency task force to retain the declaration placing all residents under controlled mobility as the town remains a high-risk area based on the classification of the Department of Health regional epidemiology and surveillance unit,” Kwan said in a statement on Thursday.
As directed, only health and emergency frontline workers, personnel delivering essential goods and services, authorized persons outside the residence on official business, and those traveling for medical and emergency reasons, would be allowed entry and exit.
Travel for leisure and non-essential purposes is prohibited, Kwan said.
Village officials were ordered to continue the “Oplan Sita” to regulate and monitor the movement of people in their respective communities.
Meanwhile, all essential business establishments and offices are allowed to operate but must require customers to present a quarantine pass and strictly implement health protocols.
For public transportation, only one passenger is allowed for pedicabs, two for motorcycles, and 50 percent of its capacity for public utility vehicles.
The local government has also prohibited sports activities, social events, and other mass gatherings of more than 10 people, and imposed a curfew from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m.
As of January 13, the town has recorded a total of 226 Covid-19 cases, based on the monitoring report of the Eastern Samar provincial health office.
This includes 192 recoveries and four deaths, while 30 patients remain in isolation and have yet to recover from the illness. (PNA)
