Wear masks when outside or be fined, Minglanilla reminds public

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CEBU CITY, Philippines – Local officials in Minglanilla town in southern Cebu reminded the public on Monday, June 15, 2020,  to always wear face masks when they go outside of their houses.

The local government of Minglanilla, in a post on their Facebook page, said the town council has since passed an ordinance, mandating those in public spaces to wear face masks as prevention measures against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

“Karon nga panahon nagkadaghan ang mga nagpositive sa COVID-19 sa atong lungsod, nunut niini strikto na natong ipatuman ang insaktong pagsul-ob ug face mask sa publico nga lugar,” the post read.

(Now that the number of COVID-19 positive persons in our town has increased, we will be strictly enforcing the ordinance on the mandatory wearing of face masks in public spaces.)

Officials also showed the two-page ordinance passed by the town council last April 16, which states that first-time violators could be penalized with P300. A fine of P500 will be imposed on each succeeding violation.

“Pila na pud na ka kilo nga bugas ug sayang ibayad lang nato tungod kay dili ta mo tuman sa balaod. Kinahanglan nga mo cooperate tang tanan para atong madaug kining atong pakigubat sa COVID-19.” they said.

(With that amount of penalty, we can already buy several kilograms of rice and it would be of waste if we’ll just pay it for not following the law. We all need to cooperate so we can achieve the fight against COVID-19.)

As of June 12, health officers in Minglanilla, a second-class municipality located 20 kilometers southeast of Cebu, have documented a total of 61 COVID-19 cases, and 58 of these are still considered as “active.”

READ MORE: Minglanilla logs 2 new COVID-19 cases on June 11

Cebu province, where Minglanilla belongs, has been placed under a general community quarantine (GCQ) since May 20. The province is looking to shift to a more relaxed modified GCQ. /bmjo