TACLOBAN CITY –– A town in Leyte has placed nine villages with more than 15,000 residents under lockdown as it continued to grapple with rising cases of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
On Tuesday, Jan. 12, Mayor Lemuel Gin Traya shut down the town center of Abuyog “until further notice” to contain the spread of COVID-19.
Local police and village watchmen were designated to man the streets to ensure that non-residents of the nine villages, including government workers, could not enter the areas placed under “community lockdown.”
All business establishments located in the nine villages can operate until 1 p.m., except those classified as essentials like drug stores, which were allowed to open until 8 p.m.
Abuyog currently has 92 COVID-19 cases. At least 30 of them were reported in the last ten days.
In Maasin City in Southern Leyte, the city government canceled its annual Sakay-Sakay Festival scheduled on Jan.17 on the advice of its inter-agency task force.
On Tuesday, the Department of Health (DOH) in the region reported 90 new COVID-19 cases, bringing its total COVID-19 cases to 12,195.