TRUCK drivers delivering goods to Cebu Province must bring a change of clothes and remain in their vehicles as added measures against the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia announced this Tuesday, March 17, 2020, as she assured that Cebu will continue to receive supplies on cargo vessels amid stricter border controls.
“As much as possible, cargo from Negros, Bohol or any other area should be received by their drivers that are here in Cebu,” she told reporters at the Capitol.
If the trucker has a driver in Cebu, the drivers at the point of origin are advised to leave the vehicle aboard the vessel. The driver in Cebu takes over and handles the delivery of goods.
Bio-security
But for truckers who do not have counterparts or drivers in Cebu, their drivers will be subjected to a bio-security check upon arrival at the seaport.
These include a temperature scan, taking a shower and changing into a new set of clothes and footwear. The vehicle will also be disinfected.
The driver will be escorted back to his truck by police to the point of delivery.
Garcia said a big volume of live hogs for lechon in Cebu is sourced from Negros Oriental. Inter-island vessels ply the Cebu-Negros route.
The governor issued on Sunday Executive Order (EO) 5-I, which provides for an immediate ban for 30 days on the entry of passengers arriving in Cebu via sea travel from all ports of the Island of Negros, including Dumaguete City.
The move came after the 64-year-old patient who tested positive for the Covid-19 in Negros Oriental died on Sunday morning.
Mandaue City
Meanwhile, in Mandaue City, drivers and passengers of public utility vehicles will be briefed on social distancing at seven checkpoints.
Members of the Traffic Enforcement Agency of Mandaue (Team) will also be doing thermal gun scans on them, Team head Ernesto Maringuran said.
Implementing social distancing is a challenge to Team given that the ones affected in the transport sector rely on a daily income, Maringuran said.
Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes said no one is exempted, but the City will do its best to mitigate the negative impact of social distancing on the drivers.
30 drivers
Still on the effects of social distancing, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) 7 has apprehended 30 drivers who ignored the government-imposed measure.
LTFRB 7 Director Eduardo Montealto Jr. said that of the said 30 public utility vehicles, 29 were jeepneys and one, a van which they had caught in Talisay City.
Montealto asked that in the spirit of due process, passengers show proof that the jeepney drivers did not follow social distancing--which sets a no-contact or one-meter apart seating of passengers. (RTF, KFD &JCT)