Cebu imposes mandatory quarantine on arrivals from Iran, Italy

CEBU, Philippines – Starting Wednesday, March 11, the Cebu provincial government will require travellers coming Iran and Italy to undergo a mandatory fourteen-day quarantine if they want to enter the province. 

Governor Gwendolyn Garcia announced the latest health order Monday, March 9, during a meeting with Capitol reporters.

“The Bureau of Quarantine, the Bureau of Immigration, the Department of Health agree with me and so I shall be issuing that Executive Order today,” she said.

She said her EO was effective two days later to spare incoming passengers from both countries who were in their flights going here.

Cebu province’s mandatory quarantine imposition is on top of the DOH directive of implementing the same 14-day quarantine on all Filipinos coming from China, and those who arrived from Japan after their quarantine on the cruise ship Diamond Princess.

Garcia justified Cebu’s stricter rules after noting the large number of COVID-19 cases from Iran and Italy.

Italy has recorded 7375 COVID-19 cases with 463 deaths on Monday. While in Iran has had 6566 cases with 237 deaths, also on Monday.

Garcia’s order gives incoming travellers who have been to Iran and Italy in the past 15 days two options – undergo a mandatory quarantine or go back from their country of origin.

“This is the additional quarantine that I believe is within my authority to declare for those that may have visited Italy and Iran,” she said.

The Provincial Inter-agency Task Force on COVID-19 convened in the Capitol to the impact of  President Rodrigo Duterte’s declaration of a national public health emergency.

Present in the meeting were Governor Gwendolyn Garcia, Dr. Jaime Bernadas Department of Health Central Visayas Regional Director; Terence Bermejo, Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ)- Cebu Head; Dr. Christina Giango, Provincial Health Officer; members of the Philippine National Police (PNP); representatives from the airport and Bureau of Immigration (BOI).

As of Tuesday, March 10, the Philippines has 33 cases of COVID-19. Bernadas said that from this cases, none were in Cebu. – Rappler.com