THE Provincial Government of Davao Oriental will continue to implement strict measures for those who intend to visit the province in observance of the Holy Week.
Davao Oriental Governor Nelson Dayanghirang issued Executive Order (EO) No. 7 series of 2021 on Saturday, March 27, 2021, imposing Covid-19 interim guidelines in the province during the Lenten season.
The EO stated, "there is a need to keep up with the current Covid-19 trends relative to the constantly evolving situation that the country is facing."
The EO said the province is imposing tight protocols in anticipation of the surge of tourists and travelers during the Holy Week.
Only authorized persons outside residence ages 15 to 65 years old will be allowed to enter the province.
The use of Davao Oriental Digital Contact Tracing System (DavOr DCTS) Quick Response Code will be strictly imposed at all entry points of the province.
"The province shall strictly impose a 'no QR code, no entry policy' across all border points of Davao Oriental," the EO stated.
All tourism establishments were also mandated to strictly implement the "no booking, no entry" policy.
The provincial government also said it will close all pilgrimage sites such as those found in Pintatagan Welcome Park, Dakong Krus in Governor Generoso, among others, for the duration of Holy Week from March 29 to April 4.
All activities related to the Lenten season will also be conducted within their respective churches.
Meanwhile, the provincial government also placed control measures against the new Covid-19 variants.
The EO mandated all travelers coming in from the National Capital Region (NCR) and other areas with detected new variants, including returning overseas Filipinos (ROFs) and local travelers planning to stay longer than five days in the province to stay at home for seven days with surveillance screening.
All asymptomatic ROFs and local travelers will be put on active surveillance. In case symptoms will occur during the surveillance period, they will be immediately isolated at the barangay isolation unit or any designated local isolation facility.
Dr. Reden Bersaldo, head of the Davao Oriental Provincial Task Force on Covid-19, said the province placed additional measures because they do not want to experience the "post-Holiday" surge just like they experienced after the recent celebration of Christmas and New Year.
Bersaldo said they experienced a peak active case of more than 200 in January and February this year.
He attributed this surge to eased border measures during the period.
"Paningkamutan nato nga dili na kini mausab karon Semana Santa (We will do our best that this surge won’t happen again this Holy Week) because we are expecting nga daghan gayud mubisita sa atong probinsya sunod semana (there will be an influx of tourist who will visit the province next week)," the health official said.
He also said church masses and other activities should be confined inside church vicinities and must impose a maximum 50-percent capacity.
Based on the Department of Health-Davao Region data as of March 27, Davao Oriental had a total case of 1,316, with 36 active cases, 1,251 recoveries, and 29 deaths.