TACLOBAN CITY – Discrimination, paralyzed local governance, and virus-infected health workers are among the ordeals being faced by the town of Tarangnan in Samar province during the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) crisis.
Mayor Arnel Tan, who is undergoing a 14-day home quarantine after close contact with an infected person, appealed for food supplies and medicines from all sectors as they ran out of stocks.
“Even if we have money, nobody wants to sell their food products to us. They don’t want to touch our money or anything from our town. We feel discriminated by nearby towns and cities as they don’t want to interact with us. We were told that it’s not their intention, but we feel it,” Tan told reporters in a virtual press briefing on Friday.
Since the outbreak of Covid-19, at least nine of the town’s residents have contracted the disease.
This fourth-class coastal town is considered as the most affected area by the health crisis in Eastern Visayas. The region has 13 positive cases.
“Our local government operations (are) paralyzed. Our medical and rescue teams are under home quarantine. Most local government officials, including me, have been waiting for the swab test result since we had close contact with health workers who turned positive (for) the virus,” he added.
Tan heavily relies on village officials to respond to emergencies and battle the spread of the virus since several employees of the local government are under the strict 14-day home quarantine.
Adding up to the burden is the scarcity of potable water during the dry season, he said.
The town had its first two confirmed cases on April 7. They are personnel of the 10-bed Tarangnan Community Hospital who got the virus from their co-worker, a doctor from Calbayog City, who recently traveled to Metro Manila.
On April 20, a kitchen staff of the hospital tested positive for the virus, the same day the two hospital staff members were discharged.
On Monday, the DOH confirmed six new Covid-19 patients from Tarangnan. Most of them are health workers and some are neighbors of the town’s first three infected persons.
Of the new patients, five are being treated at the town’s community hospital and only one is confined at the Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center in Tacloban City.
Since March, the municipal government has been distributing 50 kg. of rice, canned goods, eggs, and assorted vegetables to each of the town’s 6,900 families. This is augmented by the 12-kg. rice packs from the provincial government.
The local government has already spent its savings from last year, quick response fund, and calamity fund to buy food packs for all families.
What is left is a portion of the PHP8.5 million Bayanihan fund from the national government, which they have been spending to beef up food supplies and fuel.
While several areas in the country are enjoying more relaxed quarantine rules starting May 1, residents of Tarangnan are only allowed to go out of their house three times a week.
The local government issued on Tuesday Executive Order 8, placing the town’s 41 villages under total lockdown, restricting the movement of about 25,000 people.
“We cannot totally prevent people from going out to fish and do farming since they are hungry. Our resources are very limited to provide all their basic needs,” Tan added.
In 2015, Tarangnan was identified as one of the poorest towns in Samar with a poverty incidence of 43 percent. (PNA)
