OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES PROHIBITED. A police officer speaks to two residents of the Bonifacio Global City (BGC) in Taguig who were apprehended for taking a leisure walk outside their homes on Wednesday (April 8, 2020). The city government has reiterated its warning to residents to refrain from doing outdoor fitness and leisure activities in compliance with the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine. (Photo courtesy of Taguig PIO)
MANILA – Taguig Mayor Lino Cayetano on Thursday warned residents of the Bonifacio Global City (BGC) and visitors to refrain from doing outdoor fitness and leisure activities that are prohibited under the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in Luzon.
The warning came after the city government received videos, photos, and reports of individuals jogging and doing leisure activities outside their homes.
“Our front-liners are working hard to keep you safe. When you evade the rules of the ECQ, you not only endanger yourselves but others also. You also take time and valuable resources from areas where they are most needed,” Cayetano said in a statement.
He cautioned violators that this would be their last and final warning as the authorities will not hesitate to arrest violators next time around.
As of Thursday, the Taguig City police have arrested and charged more than 15 ECQ violators in BGC, including foreigners. Throughout the city, authorities have apprehended more than 500 violators.
The same measures will be taken for anyone else found violating the guidelines.
Cayetano also reminded building managers and their security teams that they “are tasked to help implement the rules of the ECQ.”
“BGC has 30 confirmed Covid-19 infections but I am confident that if they fully participate in their comprehensive approach in handling the virus, we can contain its spread. We have been doing extensive contact tracing, disinfection, and containment in BGC and (the) rest of Taguig, but we need citizens to cooperate,” he said.
As of Wednesday, Taguig had 132 confirmed Covid-19 cases, nine deaths, six recoveries, 152 patients under investigation (PUIs), and 222 persons under monitoring (PUMs).
Cayetano has mobilized all local government agencies to help in the battle against Covid-19 and appealed to the public to comply with quarantine measures to combat the spread of the virus.
The city earlier used government-owned buildings and other facilities to house possible and confirmed Covid-19 cases and provide accommodation for some front-line workers.
He said the city has repurposed such sites as the PWD Center; a new building in Katwiran, Ibayo Tipas, and Taguig Lakeshore; a building inside the Technological University of the Philippines (TUP) Taguig; and the Hagonoy Sports Complex as temporary facilities to house PUIs and PUMs.
He explained that dedicated wards would help the city manage cases in a way that would minimize unnecessary exposure to the virus.
Special accommodations, meanwhile, provide shelter and isolation for workers who may have exposed themselves to the virus in the line of duty. (PNA)
