LIGHTS UP | Workers from the municipal government of Alitagtag, Batangas, install on Friday solar-powered lighting facilities at the town’s public cemetery to ensure the safety of all residents who will visit their departed kin on All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day. (Photo from the Facebook account of Mayor Edilberto Ponggos)
LUCENA CITY, Quezon, Philippines — Children will not be allowed in the cemeteries of two municipalities in Batangas province on All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day as a precaution against the spread of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD), local officials said.
The municipal governments of San Pascual and Alitagtag on Friday issued separate directives that prohibited the entry of children in their respective cemeteries during the observance of “Undas” on Nov. 1 and Nov. 2, the days when Filipino Catholics remember their departed kin by visiting and lighting candles at their graves.
In Executive Order No. 38 posted on social media on Oct. 29, the local government of San Pascual “strongly suggested” not to bring children aged 11 years old and below to the cemeteries to prevent them from getting sick from any infectious diseases in crowded places.
The town’s authorities also ordered that those who would visit their departed loved ones from Oct. 31 to Nov. 2 were only allowed to stay inside the cemeteries up to 7 p.m.
The Alitagtag municipal government also declared that all residents were allowed to visit the cemeteries in their town except those aged 12 years old and below “due to the threat of HFMD.” The notice was posted by Mayor Edilberto Ponggos on his Facebook page on Oct. 26
Ponggos added that all those who would visit the cemeteries during Undas would only be allowed to stay until 11 p.m.
Alcoholic beverages, bladed weapons, and videoke machines or any sound system were prohibited inside the cemeteries of the two towns.
150 cases
The number of HFMD suspected cases in Batangas has remained at 150 after the local health units did not receive any new report since last week.
The San Pascual Rural Health Unit (RHU) reported that 150 children, mostly students in 23 villages, showed symptoms of the HFMD disease. At least 60 of them were classified as “suspects” and 90 were “on monitoring.” The RHU said it had yet to record any confirmed HFMD case in the town.
Ponggos earlier suspended classes in nursery and elementary schools for two days to curb the spread of HFMD and allow local government workers to clean and disinfect schools.
The health authorities in Alitagtag, however, did not provide information on the number of children that have been infected with HFMD.
HFMD is a common infectious disease that occurs most often in children and spreads through direct contact with secretions, such as saliva, from infected people, according to the World Health Organization. Symptoms include a fever that may last from 24 to 48 hours, painful mouth sores, and rashes and blisters on the hands, feet, and buttocks.
Those showing symptoms of infection are advised to stay home for around a week or until their fevers have receded and their sores are healed.