General Santos City Councilor Franklin Gacal, Jr. (PNA file photo)
GENERAL SANTOS CITY -- The city council here is seeking a temporary ban on the entry of foreign nationals from countries affected by the outbreak of the novel coronavirus acute respiratory disease (2019-nCoV).
In a resolution passed on Tuesday afternoon, the council said the move is to prevent the entry and spread of the disease to the area following the global health emergency declared by the World Health Organization.
City Councilor Franklin Gacal Jr., author of the resolution, said the temporary ban covers all countries with confirmed deaths and infections of 2019-nCoV, which was first reported in Wuhan, China.
“This is a precautionary measure to protect our residents from this dreaded disease,” he said in an interview.
The resolution will be transmitted to the Office of City Mayor Ronnel Rivera for appropriate action.
The councilor earlier pushed for the entry ban, which he also called a “temporary lockdown,” on all Chinese nationals but the resolution was expanded to include other affected countries as a result of the council’s deliberations.
He noted that the Sangguniang Panlungsod or city council, under the Local Government Code, is empowered under the general welfare clause to enact measures that are “necessary and proper” to ensure the health and safety of residents.
“There is an imperative need to insulate the city from the fatal virus in order to ensure the protection of the people,” he said.
Gacal said the city is at risk to the spread of the disease due to the daily direct flights from Manila and Cebu, the main entry points of foreign travelers.
The city is also close to Davao City, which has international flights to Hong Kong, Singapore, Quanzhou in China, Doha and Manado in Indonesia.
The Davao-Quanzhou flights are currently suspended due to the 2019-nCoV outbreak in China.
“We can immediately lift the ban once the disease is no longer considered a threat in the country,” he said. (PNA)
