Albay COVID-19 task force locks door to 121 residents stranded in CamSur

LEGAZPI CITY—The provincial government of Albay has locked the door to more than 100 residents who could not return to their homes in the province because of travel bans and are still now stranded in Camarines Sur province.

The Albay Interagency Task Force (IATF) said 121 Albay residents would have to stay where they are now mostly in the town of Del Gallego in Camarines Sur.

The IATF said the Albay residents had been caught on Sunday (March 29) by police trying to cross the borders between Quezon province and Bicol region.

Albay Gov. Al Francis Bichara said on Monday (March 30) that the decision was made in consultation with the 18 towns and city mayors of the province.

They decided to bar the stranded Albay residents from returning to their homes as a precaution against transmission of COVID-19.

“I would not want to sacrifice the welfare of the majority who are now scared of the COVID-19 infection that may be brought by these people from Manila,” Bichara said.

He said health authorities had already branded the stranded people as persons under monitoring (PUM), or those with no symptoms but with potential exposure to the disease.

He, however, said the Albay provincial government would send food, medical supplies and other needs to the 121 Albay residents who are now on quarantine in different holding areas in Camarines Sur.

The directive to bar the entry of the Albay residents was in line with an agreement between the Albay and Bicol AITF, said Bichara.

After a full lockdown was ordered in Bicol on March 23, at least 220 Albay residents had been fetched from Del Gallego.

The first batch of 164 trapped residents arrived here last March 21 followed by the second batch last March 23.

Edited by TSB