Bantayan mayor orders ‘total lockdown’ of critical areas in Brgy Suba

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Bantayan Mayor Arthur Despi has ordered a “total lockdown” of identified critical areas in the town’s Barangay Suba, where seven of the town’s 19 COVID-19 local transmission cases come from.

In his Executive Order no. 43, Despi said the move was based on the Bantayan Interagency Task Force’s (BIATF) recommendation, through a resolution, that a 14-day lockdown is imposed on the residences in the said village.

“Lockdown and containment of the residents of the identified critical areas in Barangay Suba shall commence on 6:00 PM today, August 5, 2020, until 6:00 PM of August 18, 2020, unless further extended based on the assessment and recommendations of the Municipal Health Office and BIATF,” the order reads.

According to EO no.43, the lockdown will be of two phases. The first phase will cover the first seven days of the lockdown, or until August 11, where the identified critical residential areas will be under 24-hour curfew.

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“No resident of Barangay Suba may go out of the boundaries of the specified critical areas, and no resident outside this barangay may enter the boundary checkpoints except those set forth in Section 1.1 (frontline workers),” the EO reads.

Those employed in essential establishments are not covered by the exemption and essential businesses are directed to come up with accommodation arrangements for their employees as part of its Business Continuity Plan under the modified general community quarantine (MGCQ) guidelines.

The EO also directs the closure and barricading of all minor roads going in and out of the residential areas in the barangay to ensure the implementation of the lockdown.

Repatriated OFWs will also not be allowed to go home to their houses in the locked down area and will be directed to the town’s isolation facility. The acceptance of locally stranded idividuals in the area is also temporarily suspended.

Phase two of the lockdown will depend on the outcome of the first seven days of total lockdown in the critical areas. According to the EO,  if the containment measures are deemed “successful” upon the assessment of the BIATF, the quarantine restriction will be downgraded to a “partial lockdown” otherwise, the total lockdown will continue until the 14th day. /bmjo