Another village in Quezon town placed under ‘granular lockdown’

The municipality of General Luna in Quezon province receives 10 medical oxygen tanks it purchased from a Manila-based supplier for use by residents stricken with COVID-19. PHOTO FROM THE FACEBOOK PAGE OF MAYOR MATT ERWIN FLORIDO

LUCENA CITY – The local government of General Luna town in Quezon province has placed another entire barangay (village) under a “granular lockdown” to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Mayor Matt Erwin Florido announced on his Facebook account on Saturday that Bacong Ilaya will be under strict quarantine status from September 19 to 21 at 6 a.m. after the village recorded a spike of COVID-19 cases.

In the past week, the village logged two COVID-19 deaths while two suspected virus carriers passed away, Florido revealed.

On September 18, a 66-year-old woman from the said village also contracted COVID-19 and is now confined in an undisclosed hospital. The patient was found to have close contact with at least eight individuals.

“Marami sa family ng suspect and confirmed na nagmanifest ng symptoms,” Florido said in an online interview.

(Many of the suspect’s family are confirmed to be experiencing symptoms.)

Authorities ordered that all residents in Bacong Ilaya are prohibited from going out of their houses except for those who would seek emergency medical attention and have passes to buy essential goods.

Village officials also imposed a strict liquor ban and 24-hour curfew. All online and modular classes at all school levels are also suspended.

Private parties and any family occasions are also not allowed during the lockdown period.

The local government has been conducting an aggressive contact tracing in the village to prevent the spread of the virus.

“The houses of families of all close contacts will be placed under TOTAL LOCKDOWN and they will all undergo QUARANTINE for 14 days,” Florido again stressed.

Last week, following the deaths of two suspected COVID-19 patients, the local government also placed Barangay San Isidro Ilaya under lockdown for three days.

The strict preventive measures ended on September 14.

As of September 18, General Luna, located in the province’s Bondoc Peninsula district, still has 15 active COVID-19 patients.

At least 51 suspected virus carriers were still under home quarantine.

Florido himself contracted COVID-19 on Sept. 1. He returned to work on Sept. 13 after he tested “negative” for the virus.

With the continuous surge of COVID-19 cases in the locality amid the threat of the highly contagious Delta variant, the municipal government decided to purchase 20 medical oxygen tanks with regulators. The life-saving equipment could be borrowed, free of cost, by sick patients in the locality.