Lockdown imposed in Pampanga capital

Police personnel and members of Bantay Bayan check motorists passing the boundary of Calumpit, Bulacan and Apalit, Pampanga provinces on Monday morning, March 22, 2021. The Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases placed NCR, Bulacan, Rizal, Cavite, and Laguna the under general community quarantine from March 22 to April 4. Niño Jesus Orbeta/Philippine Daily Inquirer

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO — For two straight days, Pampanga province has logged more than 200 new COVID-19 cases daily, mostly from this capital, prompting the imposition of a stricter form of community quarantine here.

The modified general community quarantine (MGCQ) is being observed in the province, as new cases reached 298 on April 11 and 207 the next day, according to Dr. Zenon Ponce, provincial health officer.

Explaining the big jumps in figures, Ponce said several cases were reported late.

The new cases raised to 11,786 the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 2,592 actives cases, 8,635 cases of recoveries and 559 deaths.

San Fernando Mayor Edwin Santiago issued Executive Order 21, which among others, imposed a home quarantine, closed public markets after the 5 a.m.-3 p.m. business hours, imposed a 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew, banned gatherings, prohibited dine-ins and permitted only essential stores since Monday (April 12).

It also required non-San Fernando residents to show results of swab tests done 72 hours before entry into the capital.

Santiago also enforced a new scheme called “Kapitbahay Ko, Bantay Ko” to “augment the monitoring capabilities” of villages and subdivisions.

As of April 12, San Fernando has 2,812 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 45 of these are new.

EDV