Stricter quarantine rules in Pampanga extended by 11 more days

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO—Pampanga Gov. Dennis Pineda has extended by 11 days the effectivity of his Executive Order No. 5 that directed village leaders and the local police to strictly enforce modified general community quarantine rules in a bid to bring down COVID-19 cases that surged to 1,500 in just 15 days.

In a public address streamed live on Facebook, Pineda announced he was extending the effectivity of EO No. 5 from April 5 to 15. It went into effect since March 20.

Among others, the order bars households from accepting visitors, including relatives from other households.

It also reactivated checkpoints at villages, banned movement from one village to another, imposed a ban on alcoholic drinks and a curfew from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.

The order required non-Pampanga residents to present results of negative coronavirus test results three days before seeking entry into the province.

Pineda appealed to non-Pampanga residents to refrain from visiting their parents in the province to protect the elderly from the virus.

He announced free testing for senior citizens showing symptoms of COVID-19, like cough and fever, assuring that the provincial government will foot their hospital bills. He announced a vaccine rollout for them from April 1 to 15.

The Pampanga police had arrested and charged 2,490 violators of safety protocols from March 20 to 30, according to Col. Arnold Thomas Ibay, provincial police director.

Earlier, Pineda met with chiefs of private and public hospitals to consult them on how to handle the increasing number of patients from the province and Metro Manila. He has yet to announce the agreements reached in that meeting.

TSB