AT THE height of the Covid-19 pandemic, local government units have similarly done their share in preventing the possibility of the deadly virus from getting into their cities.
Mayor Francis Frederick Palanca of Victorias City has placed the locality under a general community quarantine by shutting down all borders from unnecessary access.
Palanca, with the support of his fellow officials, issued Executive Order No. 17, placing their city and people, under a general community quarantine that necessitates the closure of all its borders.
The Victorias City Police Station headed by Chief of Police Lt. Col. Eduardo Corpuz conducted checkpoints with the City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office and Bureau of Fire Protection personnel at four designated checkpoints namely Barangay XXI from the boundary of Manapla and Victorias; Brgy. XIV (COMPAC); Brgy. XIII (Malolo Bridge) and Brgy. XIII (St. Joseph Memorial Park).
This is to ensure public health and safety.
Under E.O. 17, all borders in the said city are declared closed while strictly following quarantine procedures.
Restricted entries are implemented except for all duly identified returning residents of Victorias City namely health workers responding to an emergency; members of PNP and all branches of the AFP; persons traveling for urgent medical or humanitarian reasons; and persons transporting essential goods, supplies, and medicines.
The Inter-agency Covid-19 Border Monitoring and Regulation Task Force composed of the City and Barangay Officials, members of Victorias City Health Office, PNP Victorias City, Philippine Coast Guard and City Risk Reduction Management Office, is fully activated.
The City denies entry of non-residents of Victorias City with or without Covid-19 symptoms except for transit and passage entries.
It will also allow returning residents of the City of Victorias with or without Covid-19 symptoms but are required to present valid government-issued identification card prior to entry.
All returning residents must also be checked for signs of Covid-19 and shall undergo 14-day home quarantine with an endorsement to the Barangay Health Emergency Response Team where he/she resides for monitoring.
Residents with Covid-19 symptoms will be considered patients under investigation.
Essential personnel specifically health workers responding to an emergency; members of the PNP and all the branches of AFP; persons traveling for urgent medical or humanitarian reasons; and persons transporting essential goods, supplies and medicines must be allowed entry.
Land and sea transportation operators, with Victorias City as their destination, shall be required to disclose their passengers at the checkpoints.
Managers, operators, and dispatchers of transport terminals in the city are also required to observe and check all passengers for Covid-19 symptoms, deny them of transport and immediately report to the Task Force.
Barangay officials of coastal barangays shall immediately inform the Task Force whenever passengers/persons arriving in their locality via sea transport or vessel for proper disposition.
The PNP is conducting boundary control and the city is also practicing sanitation and disinfection in all government offices.
Mayor Palanca continues to discourage the movements of people while the city is taking a serious measure to really prevent the virus from contaminating any of its residents.
Public health is vital for now thus he asked everyone to continue showing their cooperation. All these things will come to pass but we have to win the battle by avoiding the risk of contamination, he said.