by Mark Nelson De Leon
Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong confirmed that Baguio City will be placed under community quarantine for a month starting today, March 16, until April 15 as a precautionary measure to the COVID-19.
Magalong signed the Executive Order No. 065-20 to finalize the application of the citywide quarantine. This was after a meeting with the city council led by the city Vice Mayor.
The mayor emphasized that the quarantine is not a lockdown but restrictions shall be imposed on the people and their activities. This is through mechanisms that tighten preventive, control and response measures such as a requirement for health declaration forms to facilitate contact tracing in case of COVID-19 transmission in the city.
Among the provisions are more aggressive checkpoints, curfew hours, extension of class suspension until April 15 and shorter operation hours for business establishments.
"Hihigpitag po natin ang ating mga proseso sa checkpoints operation. Yung curfew hours po natin mag-start from 10 o'clock [p.m.] to 4 o'clock a.m.," Magalong stated in a press conference.
The ongoing arrival of visitors from Manila and the rise of COVID-19 transmission nationwide are some factors that prompted Magalong to declare Baguio under community quarantine.
"We are now asking yung mga travelers natin na wala naman official business, walang urgent business sa siyudad ng Baguio, please do not enter the city," Magalong addressed to the tourists.