Siquijor temporarily closes airports, seaports

SIQUIJOR ISLAND | via Google Maps

CEBU CITY, Philippines -The Siquijor Provincial government will be barring incoming passengers, including residents returning to the island — in a 10-day period.

This developed after Siquijor Governor Zaldy Villa signed and issued Executive Order (EO) No. 017 – B that ordered the temporary closure of its seaports and airports starting March 28, 2020 until April 6, 2020.

Villa, in the order, stated that this would give the local governments of Siquijor, the country’s third smallest island, time to prepare for the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

The provincial government there has earlier issued an EO, placing the entire island under general community quarantine.

Siquijor belongs to Central Visayas.

Monitoring in Siquijor

Data from the Department of Health in Central Visayas (DOH – 7) showed that as of March 27, 2020, Siquijor remains free from any cases and presumptive positive cases of COVID-19.

However, health officials there and in the region are monitoring 1,055 persons under monitoring (PUMs) and 15 individuals showing symptoms similar to the disease.

Of the 15, two were found out to have severe acute respiratory infection (SARI), and were admitted in hospitals while the other 13 were tagged as persons with influenza-like illnesses (ILIs).

Of the 13 ILIs, 11 are under home isolation while two are confined in the hospitals.

On March 27, 2020, the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) announced that 12 specimens from the Visayas that were tested in their laboratories yielded positive of COVID-19.

Hospital authorities refused to divulge the breakdown of the figures, but stated that most of these came from Central Visayas. /dbs