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Permits for gatherings no longer required in Zamboanga City

By Teofilo Garcia, Jr.

July 2, 2022, 7:24 pm

<p>City hall of Zamboanga <em>(PNA file photo)</em></p>

City hall of Zamboanga (PNA file photo)

ZAMBOANGA CITY – The city government here announced Saturday that permits for public and private gatherings are no longer required.

The city will remain under Alert Level 1 until July 15, according to the national Inter-Agency Task Force for the management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID).

To date, the city has 34 active cases of Covid-19.

Belen Sheila Covarrubias, city hall information officer, said the decision to forego permits for gatherings was agreed upon in a meeting between Mayor John Dalipe and the local IATF-EID on Thursday.

Among the events now allowed is the 25th Learn to Play a Sports Program which opened at Mayor Vitaliano Agan Coliseum in Barangay Tetuan on Saturday.

Dalipe graced the opening ceremony and encouraged the city to produce another Hidilyn Diaz or Eumir Marcial.

The weightlifter Diaz bagged the country’s first Olympic gold while boxer Marcial plucked a bronze, both at the 2020 Tokyo Games.

Participants in the month-long sports program, which was suspended for two years due to the pandemic, are limited to 1,400 enthusiasts, aged between eight and 15 years old and who must be fully vaccinated.

Among this year’s sports disciplines are archery, arnis, athletics, badminton, boxing, chess, dance sports, gymnastics, karatedo, pencak silat, sepak takraw, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis, weightlifting, and wushu.

Travel guidelines provided under Executive Order (EO) 712 are still in effect.

EO 712 stipulates that travelers from areas with higher alert level status are required to submit a negative swab test result within 120 hours from the time of collection of specimen or rapid antigen test within 24 hours from the time of collection.

Children below 18 years old need not undergo swab or antigen test, if accompanied by fully vaccinated parents or guardians.

Strict enforcement of minimum health standards, such as wearing of face masks and hand hygiene, likewise stays. (PNA)


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