COVID-19 RESPONSE. Interior Secretary Eduardo Año (right) and Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process and chief implementer of National Task Force Against Covid-19 Carlito Galvez Jr. (center) listen to the presentation of local officials in Eastern Visayas on coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases management. Año approved the proposal to temporarily suspend the return of stranded residents to Eastern Visayas as Covid-19 cases continue to rise in the past three weeks. (PNA photo by Roel Amazona)
TACLOBAN CITY – Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año on Thursday approved the plan to suspend the travel of locally stranded individuals (LSIs) to Eastern Visayas for 14 days as part of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) containment measures.
"I am going to accede and accept their proposal, so ang gagawin natin for 14 days lahat ng pupunta sa Region 8 ay iipunin na lang muna natin (So what we will do is to gather for 14 days all people who want to go to Region 8)," Año, also vice chairperson of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) said during a Laging Handa briefing.
Local officials in the region made the recommendation due to the soaring number of Covid-19 cases in the area.
"We will make sure that LSIs will not be sent to the region unless isolation facilities are empty and disinfected before the next batch arrives,” Año said in a meeting with local officials at the Palo, Leyte municipal hall late Wednesday.
In a formal request sent by local government officials to the regional Inter-Agency Task Force, they asked for a minimum of the two-week interval before LSIs and OFWs will be allowed to travel to their hometowns in Eastern Visayas.
The time will allow local authorities to recover from “human fatigue”, replenish supplies, and disinfect quarantine and isolation facilities.
When the cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) in the region started to spike this month, some local governments decided to temporarily stop accepting LSIs due to congestion in their quarantine facilities.
Among these areas are Baybay City and Leyte, Leyte, while others like the provincial government of Eastern Samar, Borongan City, and Llorente town in Eastern Samar appeal to their returning residents to delay for several months their plans to go home.
Majority of the 445 cases of Covid-19 in the region as of Wednesday are returning residents stranded in Cebu City while others came from Metro Manila.
The figure is more than 10 times higher than the 40 cases recorded on May 28 when the first batch of Balik Probinsya, Balik Pagasa beneficiaries, Hatid Tulong recipients, OFWs, and LSIs, started to arrive in the region.
Meanwhile, Año and Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process and chief implementer of National Task Force Covid-19 Secretary Carlito Galvez, Jr. commended local government units in Eastern Visayas for managing the pandemic.
The two officials watched the presentation by the Department of Health regional office, Ormoc City government, and the League of the Municipalities of the Philippines-Leyte Chapter on the interventions set to prevent the Covid-19.
Although there is a surge of cases in the region, Año said that they are pleased to know that the region still has no death related to Covid-19.
“We are happy that despite the spike, it is very well-managed and you can be assured of our support. The national government will always be here to support Region 8,” Año said.
All the six provinces in the region are still under modified general community quarantine until the end of June. (PNA)
