At least 53 foreign nationals who were stranded because of the closure of the borders in Negros Oriental had already left the Cebu Visayas through chartered flights arranged at the Mactan Cebu International Airport by their respective governments and the Dumaguete City Tourism Office. | CDND File Photo
DUMAGUETE CITY, Negros Oriental- Mayor Felipe Antonio Remollo has ordered the closure of all flea markets here and shortened the business hours of the public market to minimize the convergence of large crowds to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Effective Monday, March 30, 2020, the flea market in Barangay Bagacay and the Tabo sa Banay in Barangay Daro will be temporarily closed until further notice.
The operation of the city’s public market was also ordered to shortened from 5 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Shortening of market operations and the closure of flea markets were in addition to the policies earlier adopted like the mandatory use of face masks for both sellers and buyers as well as regulation of the number of buyers allowed inside the market complex at a given time.
Remollo’s directives were contained in Executive Order No.18 which he signed on Friday. The EO said that “the additional precautionary measures are adopted to eradicate or minimize the possible transmission of COVID-19 in the community.”
On the other hand, hundreds of stranded foreign tourists had already left the city for their respective flights home via Cebu.
They were provided with transportation going to the Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA) so they could catch their flights.
City Tourism Officer Jacqueline Antonio said in a statement that more than 400 foreign tourists had left Dumaguete City and others parts of Negros Oriental left since March 17.
Some arranged travels on their own while others joined trips jointly arranged by the Negros Oriental Provincial Tourism Unit and the Dumaguete City Tourism Office that are part the city’s Inter-Agency Task Force COVID-19 which Remollo chairs.
A total of 13 Russian nationals, including a toddler, had left the city via a “sweeper flight” sent by the Russian government. Their travel was organized by the Russian Embassy in Manila and facilitated by the Dumaguete City Tourism Office.
Another group of 53 foreign nationals had left for Cebu onboard two chartered Ceres Liner buses.
They were brought directly to MCIA to catch the repatriation flights arranged by their respective governments. / dcb