Koronadal pulls plug on Christmas display after crowds, drawn to lights like moths, won’t heed social distancing

KORONADAL CITY—The city government pulled the plug on a Christmas display in front of the city hall after it drew crowds that made it difficult to enforce social distancing which officials said could switch on an uncontrollable surge of COVID-19 cases.

The city government was unveiling on Tuesday (Dec. 8), a display tagged as “Christmas Village” when thousands of people were drawn like moths to the bright lights.

To the chagrin of thousands of excited spectators, the local government at 8 pm on Tuesday pulled the plug on the PaksKoronadal 2020 Festival, which would have been highlighted by the lighting of a giant Christmas lantern.

Mayor Eliordo Ogena said the humongous crowd overwhelmed the security and health teams deployed to enforce COVID-19 protocols for the event.

“The physical distancing protocol for the COVID-19 pandemic was no longer followed by the spectators,” said Ogena. “I have no other recourse but to stop the formal showcasing of our Christmas village,” he told the local media.

“I don’t want this spectacle to result in the spike of COVID-19 cases in the city. I called off the event to avoid compromising the safety of our people,” the mayor said.

The launching of the Christmas festival caused traffic to snarl in front of the city hall along the six-lane national highway.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque came under fire recently after the crowd in an event he attended in Bantayan Island, Cebu failed to observe physical distancing. The event, which also featured Sen. Manny Pacquiao, was not stopped or the crowd dispersed. Police said it was investigated but results have not been made public.

Starting on Wednesday (Dec. 9), the city government of Koronadal enforced limits on the number of people who would be allowed to visit the Christmas village. Visitors would be required to present QR codes for contact tracing.

Ogena reminded people who would visit the Christmas village to always observe social distancing and wear face masks and face shields.

This year’s PasKoronadal 2020 follows the theme, “Paskong Handog ng Bagong Koronadal, Pag-asa at Katatagan.”

In an executive order issued earlier, Ogena said the city government could not just turn a blind eye and allow COVID-19 to spread.

As of Tuesday, Koronadal has 471 COVID-19 cases with 405 recoveries and 10 deaths. The provincial health office said the city’s 56 active cases were the highest among South Cotabato’s 11 towns and cities.

Koronadal is the capital of South Cotabato and the seat of government of Soccsksargen or Region 12, which aside from South Cotabato province also straddles the provinces of North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Sarangani and the cities of General Santos, Tacurong and Kidapawan.

Edited by TSB