ILIGAN CITY – The municipality of Tubod, the capital of Lanao del Norte, has placed its commercial district under a 16-day lockdown in a bid to arrest the spread of the new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Mayor Leoncio Bagul said the lockdown of Barangay Poblacion, started on October 15, although essential establishments such as banks will continue to operate.
The lockdown will mark Saturday’s observance of the town’s 74th charter anniversary.
Bagul said public utility vehicles are restricted from moving around the Poblacion hence the local government will provide free transportation to affected individuals with quarantine passes with essential travel purposes.
He also asked the Department of Education to order teachers to refrain from collecting and delivering modules to learners within the lockdown period.
Currently, the town has 47 total cases, with one death, so far.
The recent spike in infections brought the town’s active cases to 20, 10 of them in Poblacion, said Bagul.
He attributed the rapid increase of cases to a three-member team of consultants from the Mindanao State University campus in Naawan town, Misamis Oriental.
The team is doing marine ecological assessment of Panguil Bay as part of the bridge construction project.
They met with the municipal administrator and other local personnel.
A week later , the university informed Bagul that some of their employees were infected with COVID-19, prompting contact tracing and testing among individuals exposed to them.
Almost all local government employees were swabbed. The municipal administrator was later found positive for the virus, and infected another employee.
In all, nine local government employees were infected, including the town’s sanitary inspector.
Some 30 police personnel were also quarantined after being exposed to the consultants, while their test results are still pending.
A team from the provincial police headquarters was sent to the town for law enforcement duties.
Bagul added that the town is establishing whether or not a teacher from Lanao del Norte Comprehensive High School in nearby Baroy town, who layer tested positive for COVID-19, infected some local employees during a recent meeting.