LUCENA CITY –– At least 742 alleged violators of health and safety protocols imposed to curb the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) were accosted by police in Cavite province from March 1 to 9, according to a report.
Colonel Marlon Santos, Cavite police chief, said the violators were not wearing face masks or disregarded the curfew.
The violators paid fines or rendered community service in their municipalities.
The figures were based on daily reports posted by the Cavite police information office on its Facebook page.
As of March 8, the province, which is under a modified general community quarantine status, has logged 21,150 COVID-19 cases, 19,280 recoveries, and 571 fatalities since March last year.
The province still has 1,299 active virus carriers as of March 8.
Gov. Jonvic Remulla has expressed alarm over the increase of new COVID-19 cases in the province.
“Sa mga nakaraang araw, kung dati ay 9-15 cases na lamang tayo dito sa Cavite, ngayon ay humahataw na muli sa 60-130 cases per day, Remulla said on his March 8 Facebook post.
(During the past, we were down to only nine to 15 cases here in Cavite, but lately, we are back to 60 to 130 cases per day.)
Remulla noted that the sudden rise of COVID-19 cases has been happening not only in Cavite but also in the entire country.
He also expressed alarm that the COVID-19 variants from the United Kingdom, Brazil, and Africa have been spreading in the country.
Meanwhile, the Department of Health has allocated 2,723 doses of Sinovac vaccines for use in Cavite.
The vaccines from the national government will be distributed to the General Emilio Aguinaldo Memorial Hospital in Trece Martirez City (900 vaccines), Ospital ng Imus in Imus town (294), and De La Salle University Medical Center in Dasmariñas City (1,529).
Local authorities have yet to announce the schedule for the vaccine rollout in the province.
The Cavite provincial government has allotted P750 million to buy COVID-19 vaccines for its more than 1.5 million residents.