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Cotabato City to reimpose 'no movement Sunday'

By Edwin Fernandez

May 5, 2021, 7:30 pm

<p><strong>NO MOVEMENT SUNDAY.</strong> Cotabato City Mayor Cynthia Guiani-Sayadi announces the reimposition of the no-movement Sunday in the city starting May 9, 2021, as Covid-19 infections spiked once more (graph inset) in the locality. The spike was noted in March and April this year. <em>(Screengrab from Cotabato City Facebook Page)</em></p>

NO MOVEMENT SUNDAY. Cotabato City Mayor Cynthia Guiani-Sayadi announces the reimposition of the no-movement Sunday in the city starting May 9, 2021, as Covid-19 infections spiked once more (graph inset) in the locality. The spike was noted in March and April this year. (Screengrab from Cotabato City Facebook Page)

COTABATO CITY – With the rising coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) infections here, the Cotabato City Inter-Agency Task Force against Covid 19 said it has decided to reimpose the “no movement Sunday” policy beginning May 9.

City Mayor Cynthia Guiani-Sayadi, IATF chair, said the decision was reached Wednesday during the task force’s meeting to reevaluate the city quarantine protocols.

“It was in October last year when we had recorded the highest number of Covid-19 positive cases and since then, the number slowly declined until we have reached the lowest in February,” Sayadi said in a video address posted on the city government’s Facebook page.

“We thought we were already doing fine, considering that we had days when the city recorded zero cases,” she said, adding that it was in late March that the cases once again spiked.

She said the city has 354 cases in October 2020 -- the highest in record -- but slowly decreased to 44 cases in February this year. But in March this year, Covid-19 cases in the city reached 63, climbing to 115 the following month.

The city currently has 43 active Covid-19 cases.

"This April, we have recorded a total of 115 cases, just when we have already started our vaccination process,” the mayor said. She recalled that since the no movement Sunday was lifted on April 18 for the start of this year’s fasting month of Ramadan “more cases are being recorded every day.”

The mayor also directed all establishments, offices, churches, terminals, markets, and other places frequented by people daily to strictly adhere to minimum health protocols that will include the renewed scanning of personal QR code cards for contact tracing in their entrances and exits.

Sayadi earlier lifted the “no movement Sunday” policy on Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday to allow Catholics to observe the Holy Week, and on April 18, 25, and May 2 to allow Muslims’ free movement during Ramadan. (PNA)

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