Kalinga town on lockdown as COVID-19 cases surge

BAGUIO CITY, Benguet, Philippines — Tinglayan town in Kalinga province was placed on lockdown for 15 days starting Monday after a surge in coronavirus cases in at least five villages there, officials said.

Tinglayan Mayor Sacrament Gumilab issued an executive order on Sunday imposing stricter community quarantine from Dec. 7 to 21 to allow extensive contact tracing.

Eighteen new cases have brought the total to 98 since September. Most of the new infections were traced to the villages of Bangad, Lower Bangad, Centro Bangad, Upper Bangad and Poblacion.

The new cases involved local officials, forcing the suspension of some transactions at the town hall.

Construction, BPO workers

The town also stopped accepting stranded people or returning residents, Gumilab said, noting that its isolation centers were already full.

In his order, Gumilab said he would not allow anyone to enter or leave town, except those in transit along the national highway. Movement of residents would be restricted on their villages and only those seeking medical attention would be allowed to leave.

In Zambales province, 18 construction workers tested positive for the virus after they went home from Antipolo City in Rizal province, on Nov. 27. Most of them were residents of Barangay Taugtog in Botolan town.

In Subic Bay Freeport, 26 workers at a call center were infected with COVID-19 after some of them attended two parties outside the free port.

But Kevin Charles, chief operating officer of Buwelo Business Processing Outsourcing (BPO) Solutions, said the company had been implementing additional stringent measures to keep their workplaces safe.

—Kimberlie Quitasol and Joanna Rose Aglibot