PAGADIAN CITY –– Zamboanga Sibugay Governor Wilter Palma has canceled all activities relating to the province’s weeklong observance of its 19th founding anniversary from February 17 to 24 as a precaution against the possible spread of the novel coronavirus (nCoV).
Palma’s order came as the Department of Health confirmed a third nCoV case in the country Wednesday.
But Dr. Sherwin Bastero, chief of the government-run Zamboanga Sibugay Hospital, said the province has no reported case of nCOV, clarifying that the governor’s order is a pre-emptive measure.
Before his decision, Palma held a two-hour emergency meeting with the Provincial Health Board, Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, and the executive committee of the Provincial Development Council.
Palma explained that the nCoV epidemic has become a global emergency, per declaration of the World Health Organization.
The lined-up activities are moto-cross, basketball tournament, music festivals, agro-fishery trade fair, Sibugay exhibit, drum-and-lyre competition, Gabi ng Parangal, sepak takraw games, extreme off-road race, XTR circuit race, car/motor show, duathlon race, a table tennis tournament, jobs fair, and the traditional Binibining Sibugay.