Gov suspends air, sea travel to Bohol to curb COVID-19 spread

Bohol Gov. Arthur Yap. File photo by Leo Udtohan, Inquirer Visayas

TAGBILARAN CITY—Bohol Gov. Arthur Yap on Tuesday ordered the suspension of all air and sea travel to the province to slow down the spread of COVID-19.

Yap’s order starts at 12:01 a.m. on Aug. 6 and ends at 11:59 p.m. on Aug. 20.

In his executive order, Yap said the suspension of inbound travel provides a “breathing spell” from accepting guests, thus giving the province time to coordinate efforts with different local governments.

Outbound travels from Bohol, on the other hand, will continue.

Exempted from Yap’s order are health workers on official business, authorized government officials, those traveling for medical and humanitarian reasons, returning overseas Filipino workers, persons providing basic services and public utilities, and bank personnel, who shall come to the province to replenish cash funds and other supplies for the continuous service of banks.

Travel within Bohol will remain unaffected.

On Tuesday, Ocean Jet also announced in a Facebook post that it suspended its operations until further notice.

These include the Cebu-Tagbilaran-Cebu, Cebu-Ormoc-Cebu, Cebu-Camotes-Cebu, and Iloilo-Bacolod-Iloilo routes.

James Gantalao, Philippine Ports Authority manager, said he had instructed the port police to tighten health protocols at all seaports in the province, especially ports in Tagbilaran, Jagna, Tubig.

As of Aug. 2, Bohol posted 802 active COVID-19 cases, according to the Bohol Inter-Agency Task Force and Emergency Operation Center.

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