Duterte inspects Valenzuela – Meycauayan boundary

MANILA, Philippines – President Rodrigo Duterte  visited the boundary of Valenzuela City in Metro Manila and Meycauayan, Bulacan along MacArthur Highway early Tuesday to check on the screening and other procedures in the area after declaring an enhanced community quarantine in Luzon.

President Rodrigo Duterte visits the Valenzuela-Meycauayan boundary along McArthur Highway after placing the entire Luzon under an enhanced community quarantine. Photo from PSG Chief Col. Jesus Durante

In a photo released by the Presidential Security Group (PSG), Duterte, without a face mask, is seen speaking with some uniformed personnel manning a checkpoint.

The President visited the area past 4 a.m., said Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Undersecretary Lorraine Badoy in a Facebook post.

Duterte placed the entire Luzon under an enhanced community quarantine in a bid to combat the spread of coronavirus disease 2019  (COVID-19).

Under an enhanced community quarantine, “strict home quarantine shall be implemented in all households; transportation shall be suspended; provision for food and essential services shall be regulated; and heightened presence of uniformed personnel to enforce quarantine procedures will be implemented.”

Only private establishments providing basic necessities and activities related to food and medicine production shall remain open.

To date, the country has so far recorded 142 confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 12 fatalities.

Duterte has previously declared a state of public health emergency throughout the country due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases.

COVID-19 is a respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus or SARS-CoV-2. The outbreak started in China’s Wuhan City in Hubei province in late 2019.

Infected individuals could recover from more common and mild symptoms such as cough and colds.

Other patients, particularly the elderly and immunocompromised, are more vulnerable to more severe and lethal illnesses secondary to the virus such as pneumonia.

The World Health Organization has declared COVID-19 a pandemic since it has already infected more than 160,000 people and killed over 6,000 worldwide.

GSG