Dr. Arvin Alejandro, Sarangani health office chief. (File photo lifted from the Facebook page of National Nutrition Council-12)
GENERAL SANTOS CITY -- The provincial government of Sarangani has established monitoring checkpoints in entry points along major highways for the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
Dr. Arvin Alejandro, head of Sarangani health office, said Friday they set up the checkpoints in Alabel and Maasim towns in coordination with the Sarangani Police Provincial Office and transport group Sarangani Transport Alliance for Reform and True Development (Started).
Alejandro said the move aims to facilitate the speedy tracking of persons who had traveled to countries affected by Covid-19 and those possibly infected with the deadly disease.
At the monitoring posts, he said police and health personnel ask for the identification cards or passports of motorists and their passengers.
The Sarangani police put up tarpaulins at the checkpoint urging motorists and passengers, especially those who traveled abroad, to cooperate, and activated assistance desks in public terminals to handle concerns on Covid-19, he said.
Alejandro said Started--the only accredited transport federation in the province--has instructed its member-drivers and operators to check for passengers who recently traveled abroad at their terminals.
He advised travelers to cooperate when asked about their travel histories and present their identification cards and passports, if necessary.
“Our goal here is to ensure that no returning residents from abroad and visiting foreign nationals will enter the province unchecked,” he told reporters.
To enhance their surveillance activities for Covid-19, Alejandro said they tapped a total of 1,039 barangay health workers (BHWs) to lead the monitoring at the barangay level.
He said they were tasked to engage with other stakeholders, the barangay council and concerned local government offices. (PNA)
