Bohol bans tourists as the province implements ‘community quarantine’
- Governor Arthur Yap announced that the entire Bohol will be placed under “community quarantine” from midnight on March 16 until March 20
- This will bar any person from entering the province by air and sea for five days on the said dates while the province is preparing measures against the coronavirus disease
- Yap then clarified that he is not ordering a lockdown as necessary day-to-day operations are still allowed during the quarantine period
- This decision was made after Yap recently held a consultation with health authorities and multisector stakeholders
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Governor Arthur Yap on Friday announced that he will be placing the entire province of Bohol under “community quarantine” from midnight on March 16 until March 20 to impose serious precautionary measures against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the province.
Yap will issue an executive order barring the entry of any person going to the island by air and sea for five days on the said dates, according to a report by The Bohol Chronicle.
Bohol, which is among the top local tourist destinations, was the first province to implement such measure as part of efforts to contain the spread of the disease.
Those inside the province, however, are allowed to leave during the period, while residents may freely leave their homes and go to work or school.
Yap, on the other hand, explained that the community quarantine should not be likened to a lockdown as the residents can still carry out the necessary day-to-day operations even within the quarantine period.
“It’s not a lockdown because food is allowed to come in, medicine is allowed to come in, people can leave, deliveries will continue to take place,” he clarified.
“That’s why this is not a lockdown. A lockdown means nobody comes in and nobody goes out. A lockdown means you stay in your home, you cannot go out.”
The local government’s decision was concluded after Yap held a daylong consultation with health authorities and multisector stakeholders on Thursday.
“It was the assessment of the doctors, practitioners, and the Provincial Government that we need to do more in preparing for coronavirus disease and we cannot do that unless we have a focused community quarantine program to bring the message to Bol-anons and the operators, members of the community, the church, active organizations,” he said.
During the five days, the province will organize teams composed of mayors, local officials, and agencies, and civic and religious organizations that will launch a “massive” information drive to inform the public on how to protect themselves from the disease.
They will also plan on how to detect and where to bring the suspected COVID-19 patients and will secure medicines and testing kits as well on that period.
Yap added that the community quarantine may be extended after March 20 depending on the evaluation of the provincial government.
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In a previous report by KAMI, ABS-CBN apologized for posting ‘Metro Manila lockdown’ ahead of the announcement.
Metro Manila is placed under quarantine as announced by President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday. The travel restriction on traveling in and out of Metro Manila to contain COVID-19 from March 15 until April 14, 2020.
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Source: KAMI.com.gh
