Pandemic Grinch in Samar city: People loitering on Dec. 24 and 25 face penalties

TACLOBAN CITY—Christmas would not be an acceptable excuse to avoid penalties for people who would loiter the streets of Calbayog City, Samar province, which is grappling with a continuing surge of COVID-19 cases, on Dec. 24 and 25.

The city government, through an executive order of its mayor, Ronaldo Aquino, will make it unlawful for people to be out on the streets on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

The mayor said people found loitering the streets of Calbayog on those days would be accosted by law enforcers.

Their quarantine passes would be confiscated which would mean their movements would be restricted, Aquino said.

Villages were told to build barriers to prevent the entry of nonresidents.

Calbayog is among areas in Eastern Visayas which the Department of Health (DOH) said continued to have a surge in COVID-19 cases. The city has 678 cases of the disease with 16 deaths so far.

In the same. order, Aquino said Missa de Gallo, or traditional dawn Masses being celebrated for nine days leading to Christmas Day, would be allowed but with churches filling only 30 percent of their capacities. The Masses may be celebrated in village churches.

Misa de Gallo, said the order, should be held from 6 p.m. to midnight or 3 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Curfew would remain in effect between 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. for residents 15 years old or below. It would be midnight until 5 a.m. for those who are older. People attending dawn Masses would be exempted.

Caroling and parties are outlawed.

On Tuesday (Dec. 8), the DOH reported 22 new COVID-19 cases in Eastern Visayas, raising the tally to 9,038 with 97 deaths.

TSB