RESTRICTED ENTRY. A health worker mans a checkpoint in Lawaan, Eastern Samar near its border with Samar province. Eastern Samar will be placed under general community quarantine for 22 days starting Sunday (March 22, 2020) to shield its citizens from the highly contagious coronavirus disease 2019. (Photo courtesy of Eastern Samar provincial government)
TACLOBAN CITY – Eastern Samar will be placed under general community quarantine for 22 days starting March 22 to shield its citizens from the highly contagious coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
Governor Ben Evardone issued on Thursday night Executive Order (EO) 03-015 restricting the movement of people and prohibiting the entry of non-residents in the province.
Eastern Samar is the last of the six provinces in the Eastern Visayas region to be placed under general community quarantine at the height of the global scare on the spread of Covid-19.
The directive will take effect at 12:01 a.m. on March 22 until April 12.
Health workers, policemen, military, and members of the local task forces were asked to lead in the enforcement of community quarantine.
“The province hereby restricts the non-essential entry and exit of people to the province either by land, sea, or air, especially persons with a high risk of being infected, such as the sick and elderly,” Evardone said in his EO.
He asked village officials, the Philippine National Police, and Philippine Coast Guard to monitor and refuse entry to any vessel attempting to dock and enter the province through coastlines.
Exempted from the travel ban are health workers, authorized government officials, uniformed men of the government, government workers including the skeletal workforce, those traveling for medical and humanitarian reasons, returning residents with proof of residency, bank armored vehicles, and cargo vehicles carrying basic commodities.
“Local government units in Eastern Samar will impose curfew hours within their respective jurisdictions, as may be identified and deemed appropriate by their local chief executives. Individuals tasked to carry out medical, emergency, peace and order functions are exempted from the curfew,” the order reads.
As of Thursday night, Eastern Visayas had 90 patients under investigation for manifesting symptoms similar to Covid-19. Of the total, eight are from Eastern Samar.
The region remains free from the deadly virus, according to the Department of Health. (PNA)
