Naga lifts total lockdown in village after kin of COVID-19 survivor tests negative

GUINOBATAN, Albay—The total lockdown in  Barangay (village) Calauag in Naga City was lifted early morning Saturday after a relative of a coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) survivor tested negative for the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.

The lockdown in the village was put in place on April 6 after one of its residents, a 66-year-old man who had no travel history, was confirmed as Bicol’s first COVID-19 fatality.

On April 9, a relative of the victim also tested positive for the disease.

Naga City Mayor Nelson Legacion, in a post on social media, said the total lockdown, called Extreme Enhanced Community Quarantine (EECQ), will be lowered to Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ).

During the EECQ, residents of Calauag were not allowed to leave the village and were only allowed to buy food and supplies through errand desks and the market-on wheels that visits the area.

Legacion said that even with the easing of restrictions, Naga City residents must still follow government measures like physical distancing, washing of hands, and the wearing of masks to prevent contracting the coronavirus.

“Even so, we are calling on everyone to take precautions,” he said. “Let us continue to work together to keep everyone from getting sick.”

As of this posting, Naga City has recorded three COVID-19 patients with one fatality, one recovery, and one still recovering patient at the Bicol Medical Center.

/MUF