By Villamor Visaya, Jr. / Philippine News Agency
TUGUEGARAO CITY – Piat town in Cagayan Province has been placed under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) from Aug. 29 to Sept. 11 as the number of active COVID-19 cases in the town soared, the mayor said Saturday (Aug. 28).
Mayor Carmelo Villacete, in a phone interview with PNA, said there are 117 active cases reported with 20 deaths, prompting them to recommend the 14-day ECQ status to the Cagayan Valley Regional Task Force on COVID-19, which gave its approval.
In his Executive Order No. 36, Villacete said the ECQ guidelines and protocols will be observed, locking down villages and disallowing entry of non-residents without negative RT-PCR tests.
“We need a draconian decision to put a stop to this COVID-19 pandemic,” he added.
Face masks and face shields will be required at public and wet markets and mobile stores, which will operate from 5:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
The Piat Basilica Minore church will be closed to devotees but virtual masses will be allowed.
Villagers who leave the town during the day will be issued an identification card and will be allowed re-entry subject to health protocols, Villacete said.
Tricycles will be allowed to ferry one passenger for one trip.
Villacete also called on national government agencies to suspend face-to-face seminars and related activities after a family in Piat was said to have been infected after a member attended a seminar sponsored by the Department of Social Welfare and Development in Santa Ana town.
The mayor thanked Archbishop Ricardo Baccay for allowing the use of Pilgrim’s Inn, a church-operated lodge in Piat, as an isolation facility for COVID-19 patients because the local government facilities are full. (PNA) – jlo
