More provinces, cities shut borders to stop virus spread

DESERTED Boat rides at Burnham Lake have been suspended as Baguio City reduces activities that will draw people as the local government tries to stop the spread of the coronavirus. The city is enforcing a community quarantine until April 15. —EV ESPIRITU

More local governments around the country have tightened security and health checks in their borders to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

In Baguio City, Mayor Benjamin Magalong on Monday placed the summer capital under a “community quarantine,” where public activities would be regulated and the entry of visitors controlled.

Magalong said the quarantine, which would last until April 15, would not mean a “lockdown” as people’s movement would not be totally restricted.

On Sunday, the province of La Union also imposed a community quarantine to stop the spread of the virus.

On Sunday, La Union Gov. Francisco Emmanuel Ortega III imposed a community quarantine in the province to stop the spread of the virus.

In Pangasinan, Gov. Amado Espino III issued an executive order placing the province under community quarantine from March 16 to April 12.

Interisland quarantine

Angeles City Mayor Carmelo Lazatin Jr. also imposed a citywide curfew to minors from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. “for the duration of the national public health emergency.”

In Southern Luzon, Tagaytay City Mayor Agnes Tolentino placed the city under a community quarantine on Monday following a memorandum to business establishments to “postpone or cancel mass events” from March 22 to June 30.

In an executive order released on Monday, Masbate Gov. Antonio Kho said all sea or air travel of any individual or cargoes to any port or shorelines of the province will be prohibited starting 4 p.m. Exempted are those transporting basic commodities.

An interisland community quarantine was also imposed wherein residents of mainland Masbate will be prohibited to go to the islands of Ticao and Burias.

Restricted entry

Provinces in the Visayas have sealed off their borders in a bid to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The latest was Negros Oriental, where a 62-year-old councilor of Tayasan town died in a hospital on Sunday due to COVID-19.

Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo on Monday issued an executive order prohibiting the entry of anyone to the province until April 14.

Entry of persons will be restricted except for residents of Negros Oriental, health workers responding to emergencies, members of the Philippine National Police, Philippine Coast Guard, Bureau of Fire Protection, Armed Forces of the Philippines, persons traveling for urgent medical or humanitarian reasons, and persons transporting essential goods, supplies and medicines.

In Negros Occidental, Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson also issued a similar directive to help contain the disease.

Operators and dispatchers of buses and other public utility vehicles, Lacson said, must refrain from crossing the borders of Negros Occidental, and to check all passengers for COVID-19 symptoms prior to purchasing tickets and boarding.

Bohol Gov. Arthur Yap also declared a five-day community quarantine starting March 16 as a preventive measure against the spread of COVID-19.

Mindanao

In Davao City, Mayor Sara Duterte warned a religious group of legal action after it defied her order to suspend all large gatherings in the city to curb the spread of COVID-19.

While saying she respected religious beliefs, Duterte told the group’s local leaders that making unnecessary risks of going to church would not save its members from getting infected.

Duterte said the suspension of all religious activities was part of the enforcement of a citywide community quarantine, imposed through an executive order on Sunday.

She also called the attention of at least two schools for reportedly conducting classes despite her order to suspend all public gatherings.

In South Cotabato, Gov. Reynaldo Tamayo Jr. imposed on Monday a preemptive lockdown and a 10-hour curfew from

7 p.m. to 5 a.m. in the province.

Tamayo said six of the province’s 11 mayors had gone into home quarantine after attending the recent mayor’s league meeting in Metro Manila, he said.

In Zamboanga del Sur, Gov. Victor Yu closed all borders in the province effective Monday noon.

Yu placed the entire Zamboanga del Sur under community quarantine, suspending all incoming travel by land sea and air from nearby provinces, Manila and abroad. —REPORTS FROM VINCENT CABREZA, VALERIE DAMIAN, YOLANDA SOTELO, JOANNA ROSE AGLIBOT, TONETTE OREJAS , MARICAR CINCO, MA. APRIL MIER-MANJARES, CARLA GOMEZ, DALE ISRAEL, NESTOR BURGOS JR., JOEY GABIETA, KARLOS MANLUPIG, BONG SARMIENTO AND LEAH AGONOY INQ