DENR, some courts under lockdown

The entire compound of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) central office in Quezon City will be placed on lockdown, after two employees of one of its line bureaus tested positive for the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Environment Undersecretary Benny Antiporda on Thursday said the employees were from the DENR’s Environmental Management Bureau (EMB), which was among the offices located within the agency’s compound in Visayas Avenue, Diliman.

In an online press briefing with reporters, Antiporda said Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu ordered the immediate lockdown of the compound for its thorough sanitation.

Delay in transactions

“To the people transacting with EMB, please bear with us since there might be some delays. We ask for your patience,” he told reporters.

Antiporda said the DENR central office will coordinate with its general services division to decide if all other employees need to undergo rapid testing for the coronavirus.

He did not say until when the compound will be closed.

The compound is also where the Mines and Geosciences Bureau and National Solid Waste Management Commission, among other agencies, are located.

Affected staff

The Quezon City Hall of Justice and Quezon City Police District headquarters were previously placed on lockdown after their personnel tested positive for COVID-19.

The Mandaue City Hall of Justice in Cebu province was also closed earlier, following the death of a prosecutor who had tested positive.

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court announced the temporary closure of the New Hall of Justice in Mandaluyong City and the Old Ombudsman Building along Taft Avenue in Manila until June 29 after a prosecutor tested positive for COVID-19.

The Supreme Court confirmed that the prosecutor also visited the building in Manila, which prompted the 14-day lockdown.

The Valenzuela Regional Trial Court (RTC)-Bulwagang Katarungan will be on temporary lockdown until July 9 after a staffer reportedly interacted with a patient who tested positive for COVID-19.

In a memorandum released on Wednesday and made public on Thursday, Executive Judge Maria Nena Santos said judges and court personnel must undergo the mandatory 14-day quarantine period.

Continue as scheduled

Bulwagang Katarungan in Barangay Malinta was renovated and reopened last year. It houses several RTCs and metropolitan trial courts.

During the two-week lockdown that began on Thursday, Santos said court hearings and raffle of cases will continue as scheduled through video conferencing, while other proceedings will be acted upon by the court, in coordination via email with other branches and the Office of the Clerk of Court.

“If the result [of] the swab test of the person who had contact with a COVID-19-positive [patient] turns out negative, in-court proceedings and other transactions will resume immediately,” Santos said.