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DAGUPAN CITY, Philippines – Pangasinan province has shortened curfew hours and decreased capacity limits in public facilities like restaurants as it prepares for a post-Christmas COVID-19 surge.
Governor Amado I. Espino III signed and issued Executive Order No. 0001-2022 on Wednesday, January 5, after meeting with the provincial interagency task force on January 4.
Espino described his order as a preemptive measure. The Department of Health has not announced any confirmed case of the Omicron variant in Pangasinan but cases have gradually increased over the Christmas season.
From 10 pm to 4 am, curfew now starts at 9 pm.
Espino said indoor facilities can only fill 50% of their capacity, and prescribed a 70%-cap for outdoors. Public transport also has a 70%-cap on passengers.
Fun fairs and cockpits can still operate, but must follow the Alert Level 2 guidelines.
Espino urged towns and cities to implement granular lockdowns to prevent a surge that could affect the entire province.
Under the new order, unvaccinated individuals from Metro Manila are not allowed to enter the province, except for emergency and humanitarian reasons.
While only valid IDs and vaccination cards are required at the province’s borders, Espino said LGUs may impose additional requirements for travelers from areas under Alert Level 3.
The restrictions, said Espino, will remain in effect until Metro Manila and the provinces of Bulacan, Rizal, and Cavite are downgraded from Alert Level 3 to Alert Level 2.
Work suspension
Meanwhile, Calasiao town mayor Joseph Arman Bauzon issued Executive Order No. 2, Series of 2021, ordering the suspension of work in the municipality of Calasiao on January 5.
Bauzon’s move came after contact tracing found that several town hall employees were exposed to a Rural Health Unit (RHU) staff who tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday, January 4.
Earlier, Bauzon ordered the granular lockdown of the town’s RHU I and RHU II from January 4 to January 8.
He said the confirmed case attended several meetings with different departments and “there was a high likelihood of transmission between employees.”
Bauzon did not specify when work would resume. Only workers from the town’s Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO), Public Order and Safety Office (POSO), and Market staff of EEO are required to report for duty. – Rappler.com
Ahikam Pasion is a Luzon-based journalist and an awardee of the Aries Rufo Journalism Fellowship.
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