Quezon town suspends all economic activities every Saturday

LUCENA CITY—The town of Infanta in Quezon province has decided to shut down economic activities every Saturday until the end of April following a spike in coronavirus cases in the municipality.

Mayor Filipina Grace America has designated every Saturday as public “disinfection day” in the town, beginning March 27 until April 30, and ordered all public markets, stores, business establishments and private offices to close from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. for thorough cleanup.

No skeleton workforce will be allowed except for the security guards of these establishments and offices.

“Only drugstores will be allowed to open (to cater to the public) in case of emergency,” America said.

No one will be allowed to go out of their houses except in cases of a medical emergency, with the patient and carers to be accompanied by a barangay official to the nearest medical facility.

All residents were also urged to disinfect their houses on Saturdays.

Prebooked events excluded

However, America excluded from disinfection day restrictions all events that were booked or scheduled before March 27 and had clearances from the local interagency task force and their respective barangays.

As of Sunday, Infanta, which is located in the northern part of the province, has logged 252 COVID-19 cases since the pandemic broke out a year ago, 80 of which were recorded this March alone.

The town had only three active cases by the end of February but by March 28, the number rose to 65, the highest among 41 localities in Quezon province.

Quezon, which is under the modified general community quarantine status, has recorded 7,915 COVID-19 cases with 7,175 recoveries and 289 deaths. The province still has 460 active cases.

—DELFIN T. MALLARI JR. INQ