Capitol eyes hotels’ help to quarantine passengers arriving in Cebu
CEBU CITY, Philippines – The Cebu Provincial Government plans to tap Metro Cebu hotels’ help to accommodate those arriving at Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA) who will need to be quarantined.
Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia made this announcement in a press interview with reporters during the ceremonial maiden voyage of CiBus, the precursor component of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) on March 16, 2020.
“They’ll be subjected to a 14-day quarantine. Let’s billet them to a hotel at their expense. They will be monitored by PNP (Philippine National Police) and then they will be warned beforehand,” Garcia told reporters in Cebuano.
“They also have the option to return to their point of origin, if they don’t want to undergo the mandatory 14-day quarantine,” she added.
On Sunday, March 15, 2020, Garcia issued another Executive Order (EO) in line with the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) situation.
EO No. 5-J expanded the 14-day mandatory quarantine to visitors arriving at Cebu from all international flights. Earlier, quarantine protocols were only limited to passengers from mainland China, portions of South Korea, Iran, Italy, and Spain.
Garcia also said that she hoped hotels would agree to the Capitol’s suggestion.
“Since we already closed our doors for incoming passengers from other destinations in the Philippines, drop in bookings have been observed. And we’re hoping with this plan, they (hotels) will agree to it,” said Garcia.
Support for Capitol’s plan
The governor said she received information from Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Junard ‘Ahong’ Chan that some hotels there already expressed support on the province’s initiative.
“Take note that these (people arriving from international flights) are not patients under investigation. We just need to quarantine them for safety purposes and at the same time, it will translate into income for our hotels,” said Garcia.
The Philippines reported a total of 140 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 12 deaths, as of March 15, 2020.
The Cebu Provincial government has started banning the entry of passengers coming in from outside provinces as ‘mitigation measures’ on the impact of COVID-19, which has also significantly affected the tourism industry, particularly hotels and resorts./dbs
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