SAN PEDRO CITY –– The City of Sta. Rosa in Laguna was placed under a state of calamity on Tuesday due to the outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
Sta. Rosa has so far recorded one case of infection, a male patient admitted to a private hospital in the city. This is also so far the lone confirmed case in Laguna.
City Mayor Arlene Arcillas said in a phone interview that more than allowing for a quicker release of government funds to address the outbreak, the declaration also gave her a free hand to act and decide swiftly on the effects of livelihood and travel restrictions due to community quarantine.
“It’s hard to decide, move when your hands are tied (by legalities),” she said.
Sta. Rosa is a densely populated city and a hub of manufacturing companies, among them in food production.
Arcillas said with the stricter home quarantine and the suspension of mass transportation, the city government would provide vehicles to go around each barangay at certain times of the day to ferry residents who need to buy food, medicines, or go to hospitals.
She said they were also coming up with food and aid provisions for the public utility vehicle drivers and informal workers temporarily displaced due to the transportation and work suspensions./lzb