The City Government on Wednesday has finally lifted the total lockdown in Barangay Mangingisda, placing the village back under the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).
Norma Lyn Dave, the Assistant City Information Officer, told Palawan Daily News (PDN) Wednesday, April 29, that no one from the group of fisherfolk who travelled from Iloilo has manifested any COVID-19 symptoms.
“Sumusunod naman sila [na mga residents] at saka ‘yong mga mangingisda chineck up ulit sila just to make sure, wala namang problema. Ni-remind lang din sila na ECQ pa tayo so hindi pa rin sila puwedeng lumabas. Tapos kahit naman nasa GCQ na tayo may mga limitations pa rin. Wala namang naging problema when it comes to health problems. Kasi everyday naman silang mino-monitor ng City Health Office natin,” said Dave.
Mayor Lucilo Bayron on April 15 ordered the 14-day lockdown of the entire Bgy. Mangingisda, cancelling all quarantine passes issued to its residents.
Bayron said during his live Facebook video announcement on April 15, this lockdown or extreme ECQ was due to a report he received from Puerto Princesa Task Force COVID-19 incident commander Dr. Dean Palanca, stating that a total of 26 fisherfolk from Iloilo went home to the village on April 8 and 14.
In a press statement forwarded by Dave to Palawan Daily News, the City Information Department (CID) reiterated that the village will still implement strict curfew hours and only the authorized persons outside residence (APOR) and those with a quarantine pass will be allowed to go out.
The statement also noted that an information education campaign (IEC), through its team leader Jenelyn Bayking, was conducted at the village reminding the people to continuously practice social distancing, proper hand washing and wearing of face mask, and avoid mass gatherings.
“Tinungo rin ng Incident Management Team (IMT), Information Education Campaign (IEC) team at City Health Office (CHO) ang mga mangingisda upang muling suriin at i-check ang body temperature. Kasabay rin ang pagpapaalala ng mga dapat pa rin nilang gawin,” said the CID in the statement.