THE lockdown or enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) should be implemented in the entire Negros Island.
This was stressed by Bacolod City Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran Wednesday, March 25, after Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson earlier announced that there will be a 14-day lockdown or enhanced community quarantine in Negros Occidental next week.
“If we implement a lockdown, it should be the entire Negros Island and how I wish that the Negros Oriental will also go with us because our efforts will be useless if we don’t have the participation of Negros Oriental,” Familiaran said.
Familiaran, chairman of Bacolod City Inter-Agency Task Force against coronavirus disease (Covid-19), said Negros Oriental is connected to Negros Occidental so anybody can exit and enter the province.
“So it’s better to have enhanced community quarantine in the entire Negros Island and not only in Bacolod City or Negros Occidental. The fastest and the best solution to prevent and control the spread of Covid-19, is to have enhanced community quarantine or lockdown,” he said.
Once the province will issue the executive order for the implementation of lockdown the City Government of Bacolod will also do the same, he added.
The meantime that the province is preparing for a lockdown, it was agreed that a uniform curfew will be implemented throughout the province which will be from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m.
“I just want to assure the public that even if we have to go through the enhanced community quarantine, food supply will be available and it’s not that people cannot go out anymore from their respective homes,” Lacson earlier said.
He said there will always be a person from each house allowed to go out and buy groceries.
The villages will issue a quarantine pass in every household.
“We will also make sure that cargoes will continue especially food, medicines and other essentials. We will also make sure that even our sugar industry will continue to mill because it is very important. If we have the sugar industry continue milling, there is at least employment for our people,” Lacson said.
“There is no reason to panic. What we are limiting here is the movement of people,” he added.