MAASIN CITY, August 3 (PIA) -- The provincial inter-agency task force (PIATF) has decided on placing Southern Leyte province under the least lenient type of quarantine status, from general community quarantine (GCQ) since June, to a modified general community quarantine (MGCQ).
During its second virtual meeting on Friday -- the last day for Executive Order 36 -- the PIATF came out with a new command, Executive Order 38, which implements the MGCQ from August 1 to August 15.
“Southern Leyte has successfully confined the transmission to very few direct contacts of those returning OFWs and LSIs who are found positive for COVID-19,” the 15-page order stated as one of the reasons for the change.
Another rationale was that “the positive outlook of tightened health and safety measures and the high percentage of recoveries in the province has pushed the provincial government to finally adopt the new quarantine classification.”
Indeed, in its facebook page, the provincial government posted 89 total recoveries and only 33 active cases from a high of 122 confirmed positives as of August 1.
The current 33 active cases were distributed as follows: Maasin City – 14, Pintuyan – 5, two (2) cases each for the municipalities of Sogod, Liloan, Saint Bernard, San Juan, Anahawan, and San Francisco, and one (1) each for the towns of Hinunangan and Malitbog.
Even under MGCQ in the latest order, basic health protocols and operational guidelines on zoning containment strategy will still be implemented, EO 38 mandated.
“In preparation for the new normal, the provincial government relies more on the responsive actions of the city and municipal local governments hence giving them more responsibility on monitoring and sustaining health guidelines implementation,” the latest EO, signed by Gov. Damian Mercado, said.
Still, the defining moment of EO 38 lay in the opening of the province to outbound public transportation, to any point within Region 8, subject to specific instructions in accordance with clearly defined minimum health standards and certification of operators by the Department of Transportation (DoTr).
These include half the usual passenger capacity, no more aircon in vans, windows open during trips, list of passengers for every trip, foot bath, thermal guns, and always wearing of facemasks, among others.
The provision on open public transport around the region had to be issued in an addendum, as the previous restrictions on outbound travel were still inadvertently retained in the new EO. (ldl/mmp/PIA8-Southern Leyte)
Source: Philippines Information Agency (pia.gov.ph)
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