Classes suspended, travel ban imposed vs spread of virus

Classes on all levels in public and private schools in Baguio City have been suspended from March 13 to 22, as a proactive measure against COVID-19, Mayor Benjamin Magalong said in a memorandum on Thursday, adding that school premises would be disinfected in the meantime.

In Bulacan province, a centralized home quarantine facility will be established to accommodate overseas Filipino workers returning from countries hit by COVID-19, Gov. Daniel Fernando said.

Bulacan on Tuesday recorded its first confirmed case of COVID-19, a 58-year-old woman from the City of San Jose del Monte, according to Dr. Joy Gomez, Bulacan provincial health officer.

The patient, an employee of Greenhills Mall in San Juan City, is now confined in a government hospital in Metro Manila.

In Nueva Ecija province, Palayan City Mayor Adrianne Mae Cuevas said a house that could accommodate five people was being readied as a quarantine facility, while a P2-million quick response fund had been allotted in San Jose City to clean and disinfect vital places against the virus, even if a suspected patient from abroad tested negative for COVID-19.

In Subic Bay Freeport, a P5-million fund was approved to buy medical equipment, disinfecting agents, protective gear and a new ambulance, said Wilma Eisma, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority chair.

Part of the fund will be used to maintain a quarantine facility in the area, she added.In Batanes province, the municipal council of Basco passed a resolution imposing travel restrictions for residents and tourists coming from mainland Luzon from March 16 to April 16. —REPORTS FROM KARLSTON LAPNITEN, VINCENT CABREZA, CARMELA REYES-ESTROPE, ARMAND GALANG, JOANNA ROSE AGLIBOT AND NATHAN ALCANTARA