By Leilanie G. Adriano
Staff Reporter
LAOAG CITY—The provincial government here has installed COVID-19
quarantine checkpoints manned by an inter-agency health task force to check
body temperatures and obtain health record of travelers if necessary, in all
border areas going in and out of the province of Ilocos Norte.
The checkpoint bars those who enter the province with symptoms
attributed to COVID-19 based on their health information except for residents
of the province.
The checkpoints are located at the Badoc gateway separating
Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur, Pagudpud and Nueva Era for Cagayan and Abra
boundaries, respectively.
In a public advisory issued on early morning of March 15, 2020, Ilocos
Norte Governor Matthew Joseph M. Manotoc issued Executive Order No. 60-20,
placing Ilocos Norte under “community quarantine” to prevent spread of COVID-19.
“General community quarantine will be observed throughout the
province. LGUs shall abide by the directions of the Department of Health (DOH)
and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) in the imposition of
general community quarantine in their respective territorial jurisdictions,”
said Mr. Manotoc in a statement.
As recommended by health officials, general community quarantine
aims to limit the movement of people accessing basic necessities and work while
uniformed personnel and quarantine officers are present at border checkpoints.
As of this posting, the barangay health emergency response teams (BHERT)
in all parts of the province are also going from house to house to monitor if
residents are strictly observing community quarantine.
Meanwhile, all classes in all levels were indefinitely suspended
for the safety of children.
Though there is no confirmed COVID-19 case in the province so
far, the governor urged all concerned authorities and residents to
cooperate with the government and “act
as if there is already a confirmed case of Covid-19 here.”
“Everyone here in the province is encouraged to stay home. All
travel to, from and within Ilocos Norte is discouraged. If you must travel
practice social distancing. You must distance from each other at least one
meter,” said Mr. Manotoc.
He also underscored those will use face mask should only include
persons under monitoring, patients under investigation, sick individuals and
those with direct contact to PUM, PUI and those who are positive of COVID-19.
Suspension of classes
While classes are
suspended, provincial officials instructed school officials and administrators
to immediately sanitize and disinfect their classrooms and facilities to
prevent the transmission of COVID-19 and to prohibit students or pupils from entering
school premises during the suspension period.
Ilocos Norte schools division superintendent Joann Corpuz also
advised teachers to employ transmutation in the computation of grades of
learners and to utilize available ratings and test results to determine their
final grades.
For a parent like Noel Abad from Laoag City, he said it is better
to become proactive than being sorry.
Even before knowing the indefinite suspension of classes from the
governor, he already instructed his 11-year old son to stay indoors and
minimize mingling with other children who has flu-like symptoms.
Ilocos Norte has not recorded any positive case of COVID-19 so
far and officials hope the province remains free of the virus until it
subsides.
Task Force Salun-at
EO No. 60-20 also activated “Task Force Salun-at,” which was
recently created through EO No. 51-20 to combat the infectious disease; and
regulation of borders and ports through EO No. 52-60 which temporarily bans
entry and docking of all cruise ships at any ports in the province.
Also incorporated in the order is the identification of
quarantine areas; prohibition on hoarding, reselling and price spikes; and
prohibition on the spread of fake news regarding COVID-19, among others.
“The only way we can take care of ourselves is to take care of
each other, and the only way we can take care each other is by taking care of
ourselves. Now, more than ever, we depend on each other. After all, we are the
‘Solid North’— as united and as resilient as we have ever been. Together, we will overcome this,” Mr. Manotoc
stressed.
Prov’l board members go on 14-day home quarantine
The regular session
of the members of the 11th Sangguniang Panlalawigan on March 16,
2020 was cancelled in compliance to the March 15, 2020 Executive Order of
Ilocos Norte Governor Matthew Joseph M. Manotoc.
In a memorandum signed by Ilocos Norte Vice Governor Cecilia
Araneta-Marcos also on March 16, 2020, it states that all members of the
Provincial Board and the vice governor herself submit to a 14-day mandatory
quarantine.
“With the governor’s executive order that says, anyone who came
from places where there is Covid-19 alert, it would be best to have a
self-quarantine. On our case, we had been to Manila prior to the signing of the
EO so we want to set an example to the populace and we hope that others will do
the same” she said in an interview on Monday afternoon.
The vice governor said “it is better to be strict and safe rather
than lenient and sorry.”
However, in the event that there are pressing issues that need to
be addressed during the 14-day home quarantine of the board members, Marcos
said they can always call for a special session.
She appealed to all residents to cooperate and stay home for
their safety.
On March 12 to 14, 2020 Ilocos Norte hosted the 80th
national assembly of the League of Vice Governors of the Philippines (LVGP) at
the Fort Ilocandia Resort Hotel, this city.
The next SP regular session is set on March 30.
DOH launches COVID-19 hotlines 1555, 02-894-COVID
The Dept. of Health
launched the DOH COVID-19 emergency hotlines 02-894-COVID (02-894-26843) and
1555 in partnership with the National Emergency Hotline of the Department of
Interior and Local Government (DILG), and PLDT and its wireless subsidiary
Smart Communications Inc.
Callers can ask questions if they suspect they are infected with
COVID-19, or request assistance if they have symptoms and/or known exposure to
confirmed cases or patients under investigation. The information collected from
emergency calls is transmitted to the COVID-19 Emergency Operations Center and
other relevant agencies for immediate facilitation and response.
“As we enhance our efforts to contain this disease, we are
working with both the public and private sectors, which can provide the
facilities and the technical expertise to address the many challenges that we
face each day. We expect an influx of calls in the first few days of the launch
of the call center. We ask for the public’s cooperation and patience to allow
only relevant and important calls to go through. In that way, we can provide timely medical
assistance to those who really need it,” said Health Secretary Francisco T.
Duque III.
“Our collaboration with DOH and 911 is part of our continuing
efforts to fight the spread of COVID-19. We hope that with our services, we can
help provide much-needed information that will enable health authorities to
deliver proper patient diagnosis and treatment and ultimately stop the spread
of this disease,” said PLDT Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Manuel V.
Pangilinan.
“Our health workers undertake tremendous tasks and make
sacrifices worthy of recognition, which is why we in other sectors of
government are ready to support our heroes in the frontlines,” remarked
Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo M. Año.
The free 24/7 services will be available through 02-894-COVID.
Smart and PLDT subscribers will also be able to use the 1555 hotline for free.
Subscribers from other networks can access the 1555 hotline once technical
adjustments are completed.
MINC transports COVID-19 frontline workers
With the suspension
of mass public transport facilities after the Luzon-wide enhanced community
quarantine declaration, the Metro Ilocos Norte Council (MINC) now provides
transportation services to COVID-19 front line service providers.
MINC is the provincial government’s arm committed to streamlining
the province’s transport sector through the implementation of alternative
solutions in addressing commuting concerns.
“As issued on my Executive Order [No. 60-20] on Sunday [March 15,
2020] and with the Luzon-wide enhanced quarantine declaration of President
Rodrigo R. Duterte, travel within Ilocos Norte is more dangerous at this point.
We are essentially in a lockdown. All travel to, from, and within Ilocos Norte
are banned unless absolutely necessary, mostly for food and health,” Mr. Manotoc
stated.
He also reminded front liners and service providers to exercise
extra caution:
“Our front liners should be wearing masks. Kasama po sila. Hopefully our requested PPEs, masks, and other
equipment will be delivered soon,” he ended. (With reports from PGIN-CMO)
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