HEALTH CHECK Policemen in Albay are again deployed on Friday to man border checkpoints, such as this one in the town of Polangui, to ensure that all those entering the province have gone through a swab test for COVID-19. —PHOTO COURTESY OF CARLO PAUL PEREZ/GOVERNOR’S OFFICE OF ALBAY
LEGAZPI CITY—Albay province has tightened its borders anew on Friday as a preventive measure to curb the spread of the virus in the province following the spikes of coronavirus cases in Metro Manila and the Calabarzon provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon.
Gov. Al Francis Bichara, chair of the Albay Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, issued Executive Order No. 8 which imposes stricter entry restriction to all types of transportation and commuters coming from outside Bicol starting at midnight on Friday.
“We are maintaining a very low number of positive cases in the province and it should stay that way,” the governor said.
As of Friday, Albay still has 33 active COVID-19 cases. The province has recorded 1,121 cases since the pandemic was declared in March last year, with 64 fatalities.
The province also imposed border restrictions following the outbreak but these were eased toward the end of last year as Albay was placed under modified general community quarantine.
The new border restriction would still exempt vehicles transporting basic and essential goods, such as food, medicine, water, gasoline, agriculture products and implements, power and telecommunication equipment, supplies, and construction materials and aggregates.
Border checkpoints were tightened, particularly at the Albay-Camarines Sur boundaries in the towns of Polangui, Tiwi and Libon, the main gateways for commuters coming from Metro Manila and Calabarzon.
The EO directed the Philippine National Police to man the checkpoints and strictly check that all persons entering Albay have health documents that show they are negative for COVID-19 using either reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PRC), saliva or antigen test administered three days prior to their travel to the province.
Those who carry documents showing they tested positive for COVID-19 would still be allowed into the province but they have to be transported directly to designated isolation facilities, said the order.
Free face masks
In Pampanga province, Gov. Dennis Pineda on Friday reactivated the barangay checkpoints and regulated the entry of nonresidents by requiring them to present negative RT-PCR or antigen test results done 72 hours before entering the province, including Angeles City.
The Department of Health (DOH) distributed some 15,000 face masks in areas in Calabarzon that recorded a rise in virus cases.
The face mask distribution targeted poor residents of several villages of Antipolo City and Cainta town in Rizal and Lucena City in Quezon, said Dr. Eduardo Janairo, DOH-Calabarzon director.
The distribution came after President Duterte directed the DOH to give away face masks to those who couldn’t afford them to ensure compliance to this health protocol.
“We can expect cases to lessen if this simple practice is followed religiously,” Janairo said.He urged local governments in the region to also provide free masks to their constituents.As of March 17, Calabarzon has recorded 83,673 COVID-19 cases, with at least 5,939 of them still active. Some 2,396 COVID-19 patients have died in the region, according to DOH-Calabarzon.
Calabarzon is the second region in the country with the most number of COVID-19 cases, next to Metro Manila. —REPORTS FROM MAR ARGUELLES, MICHAEL JAUCIAN, DELFIN MALLARI JR. AND TONETTE OREJAS