Photo by Villamor Visaya Jr.
CAUAYAN CITY –– After this Isabela city recorded its first coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patient, Mayor Bernard Faustino Dy deployed three drones to monitor the movement of villagers, who have been restricted indoors, except for food and medical supply runs.
The drone will also patrol rivers and resorts, Dy said, since residents are no longer allowed to hold picnics during the enhanced community quarantine.
The drones are equipped with cameras that snap photographs and record video footage, which would be used as evidence against people who breach the 24-hour curfew.
“People have been behaving as if there was no lockdown. We see people not practicing social distancing at the public market, while private cars and people still flock to banks and groceries,” said teacher Rommel Sor.
He suggested that the checkpoint frontliners guard all exits and entrances to the city.
The first Cauayan patient is a 40-year-old health worker, who had direct contact with a COVID-19 patient at a hospital. She is also the 27th COVID-19 patient in Cagayan Valley.