By Liezle Basa-Iñigo
LINGAYEN, Pangasinan – The provincial board here suspended all forthcoming barangay fiestas, as well as Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) activities in the province amid threats posed by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-2019).
Sangguniang Panlalawigan member Jose G. Peralta, who is also Liga ng mga Barangay Provincial Federation President, authored Provincial Resolution No. 314-2020, “calling on all local government units more particularly Barangay and SK officials to be united in helping the national and provincial governments to combat the acute respiratory diseases by suspending activities that could draw crowd in their respective localities.”
The resolution also states: “The Sangguniang Panlalawigan expresses grave concern over the sudden rise of COVID-19 cases in the country, not to mention the reported isolated case in the province.”
Earlier this week, the Department of Health (DOH) said that among the COVID-19 positive patients was a visitor from Australia who participated in a high school reunion.
The subject, a female, visited the province on February 22 to 23.
The “balikbayan”, along with her husband, departed to Manila in the afternoon of February 23 and returned to Sydney, Australia on March 2 where she reportedly developed cough.
On March 3, the New South Wales government in Australia confirmed the Fil-Australian to be positive for COVID-19.
However, DOH Region 1 Director Valeriano Lopez said the 14-day incubation period has already lapsed on March 8, noting that the subject and her husband left Lingayen on February 23.
The DOH-Region 1 also assured that, as of Wednesday, March 11, Pangasinan remained free of the disease, and that no person among the attendees of the reunion showed signs and symptoms of severe of respiratory ailment.