By Brian Campued
The Quezon City government has issued a closure order against a club as the city logs its sixth new mpox case.
In a news release Wednesday, the QC government said that all of the cases in the city have been traced to F Club.
On Aug. 24, the city government’s Business Permits and Licensing Department (BPLD) issued a cease and desist order (CDO) against the club for refusing to cooperate with the contact tracing team and for violating Republic Act No. 11332 or the Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Concern Act.
However, despite the standing CDO, a new business application was submitted to the BPLD under a new business name, but sharing the same address and facilities with F Club.
The club also reportedly resumed operations under the new business name before the latest mpox case was recorded, despite the application being on hold.
“In the interest of public health, we are serving the closure order to F Club and this FINE Wellness Bar and Spa. Kahit magpalit pa kayo ng business name, hindi namin kayo papayagang mag-operate hangga’t hindi pa kayo compliant sa mga batas, ordinansa, at regulasyon ng lungsod,” QC Mayor Joy Belmonte said.
“Hindi namin hahayaan na marami pang QCitizen ang malagay sa panganib. Ensuring the safety and well-being of our QCitizens remains our primordial duty,” the mayor added.
According to the City Health Department’s City Epidemiology and Surveillance Division, the results of the sixth mpox case were released on Oct. 31.
The 31-year-old male patient said he visited the F Club on Oct. 5.
—iro