Lockdown turns Koronadal into ghost town

DESERTED The rotunda, commonly called the “round ball,” used to be a busy landmark but is virtually deserted now that Koronadal City implements the “no movement Sunday” to fight the spread of COVID-19, in this photo taken on Sunday morning. —BONG S. SARMIENTO

KORONADAL CITY—If Cebu’s provincial and city governments have opted on a color coding scheme and stricter border control to limit the movement of people and vehicles, Koronadal City in South Cotabato province turned the city in a virtual ghost town on Sunday as it imposed the first day of the “no movement day” policy to fight the spread of the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in their localities.

The main streets of Koronadal were empty of people and vehicles on Sunday, except for a few front-liners, such as medical workers, village watchmen and food delivery trucks.

Koronadal is the capital of South Cotabato and the seat of government of Soccsksargen, which covers the provinces of South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Sarangani and the cities of General Santos, Koronadal, Tacurong and Kidapawan.

Police Lt. Joenary Castañares, chief of the city’s Police Community Relations, said that in tandem with the city’s traffic unit, his office set up various checkpoints across the locality to strictly implement the “no movement Sunday.”

“By and large, people in the city followed the ‘no movement day’ by staying at their houses,” Castañares said.

Except for hospitals and pharmacies, business also came to a halt as grocery stores of malls and the main public market were closed under the

April 13 to April 30 enhanced community quarantine.

Clusters

The city government grouped the 27 villages into three clusters, with residents of each cluster given a color-coded “movement pass” that allowed them to go out only twice a week to buy food and other essentials.

Every Sunday until April 30 is a “no movement day.”

To date, the city has one confirmed COVID-19 case.

In Cebu, the highly urbanized cities of Cebu, Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu will implement starting on Monday a number coding scheme to regulate the number of vehicles plying its roads. The next day, the provincial government will no longer allow workers in certain establishments to cross the borders between Cebu City and the province.

The local governments in Cebu stepped up measures against COVID-19 after cases in Cebu City went up to 163 as of Sunday 2 p.m. Cebu province only has three cases while Lapu-Lapu and Mandaue had 10 and six cases, respectively.

Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Junard Chan also barred the entry and exit of nonessential personnel through the two bridges that link Mactan Island to mainland Cebu starting on Monday. —WITH REPORTS FROM ADOR VINCENT MAYOL AND DALE ISRAEL INQ