New COVID-19 restrictions: No visitors allowed in Legazpi City homes
LEGAZPI CITY—Residents of the city were instructed on Tuesday (April 13) to bar visitors from their homes to prevent the spread of SARS Cov2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.
The instruction came from the local Interagency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF).
Alarmed by the surge in cases of coronavirus infections in the city, authorities started enforcing tighter restrictions on the movement of residents at villages as a health protocol to prevent more cases of COVID-19, which has no known cure yet.
Mayor Noel Rosal, IATF chair in the city, issued a directive to 70 village officials to reinstate checkpoints at all villages to prevent the entry of nonresidents, except for those delivering essential goods.
“No visitors in the meantime in various villages to prevent viral infection, even during village fiesta or events that require mass gathering,” Rosal said.
The city logged eight new cases on Monday (April 12) from six urban villages here, bringing to 51 the number of active cases.
The city tracker showed that 560 cases had been recorded since the pandemic started in 2020. The city also has 488 recoveries and 19 deaths.
The other restrictions included daily six-hour curfew from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m.
To enforce the measures strictly, the city government had issued to village officials and police citation tickets that mean penalties for residents who would violate health protocols like wearing of face masks, face shields, social distancing, ban on mass gatherings, curfew and loitering.
Violators would be fined P2,000 for the first offense, P3,000 for a second offense, P4,000 for a third offense and P5,000 plus jail time for a fourth offense.
Rosal urged residents to be more vigilant in the fight against the virus by heeding the health protocols, staying at home and avoiding mass gatherings.
He warned that the spike in cases could prompt the Department of Health (DOH) in Bicol to classify the city as a high-risk area for COVID-19, which could lead to tighter lockdowns.
The DOH currently classifies the city as a low-risk area qualified for modified general community quarantine.
TSB
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For more information on COVID-19, call the DOH Hotline: (02) 86517800 local 1149/1150.
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