(Photo courtesy of Google Maps)
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – The Oroquieta City government on Wednesday announced the ban on the entry of locally stranded individuals (LSIs) after it saw a rise in coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases.
In an interview, Mayor Lemuel Acosta said the local inter-agency task force has decided to disallow LSIs from entering the city for 29 days starting January 3.
Acosta said the temporary suspension of entry of LSIs was to “enable the local government to prevent the increasing number of Covid-19 cases in the city and prepare its quarantine facilities for more arrivals.”
The latest data showed that Oroquieta has a total of 65 active coronavirus cases, with new cases caused by local transmission.
Meanwhile, Cagayan de Oro City Mayor Oscar Moreno said he will not turn away returning residents as he has instructed the city health office (CHO) to facilitate the arriving LSIs if village officials will not allow their entry.
“If the barangay officials won’t accept the arrivals in their areas, our [CHO] will send teams to extract and confine the arrivals in the city’s isolation units. We are considering to admit only arrivals that have Covid-19 symptoms as well as close contacts and new index cases,” Moreno said.
Since the national government has declared the Philippines under a state of national health emergency, Moreno has been consistent in allowing returning individuals, whether they are residents or not, to enter or pass through the city.
This year, though, he said Cagayan de Oro City will no longer bring returning residents straight to the city isolation facilities if they do not agree to it. However, returning residents manifesting symptoms would be required to undergo isolation.
This came as Moreno said there a fewer Covid-19 cases in the city involving arriving individuals for the past months.
In limiting admissions to arriving symptomatic individuals and local cases in the city’s isolation units, Moreno said they hope to conserve enough funds to acquire vaccines as the city’s counterpart to the national government’s allocation.
“Unlike before, the passengers and the people manning the airports, the seaports and bus terminals are more careful in complying with health protocols,” he added. (PNA)
