A police officer attends to the checkpoint at the border of Olongapo city and Zambales province on Monday, Jan. 10. The city government has tightened its border controls against the spread of COVID-19. (Screengrab from Facebook live of Olongapo Mayor Rolen Paulino Jr.)
OLONGAPO CITY––Checkpoints returned to this city’s borders Monday, Jan. 10, as the local government began banning the entry of non-residents unvaccinated against COVID-19, authorities said.
In a statement, Mayor Rolen Paulino Jr. instructed residents, especially those returning from other areas, to bring their vaccine cards always.
The move came after a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases in the city that was under Alert Level 3 due to the surge.
Some establishments, such as grocery stores, have also started requiring vaccine cards from customers.
On Sunday, 53 new cases were added to the city’s COVID-19 tally, bringing to 139 its active infections. Most of the infected patients were vaccinated fully against the viral disease.
Since 2020, the city has recorded 5,597 COVID-19 cases, with 5,141 recoveries and 317 deaths.