By Jhon Aldrin Casinas
San Juan City was placed under a state of calamity Sunday amid the threat of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
San Juan City Mayor Francis Zamora said the City Council has unanimously passed Ordinance No. 16 in a special session Sunday afternoon, officially declaring the city under a state of calamity.
This will allow the local government unit to access its quick response funds or calamity funds that will be used to purchase necessary materials to help stop the spread of the disease.
The City Council has also approved Ordinance No. 18, imposing a curfew in San Juan from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. starting Sunday night.
To discourage people from hoarding, the City Council has also passed City Ordinance No. 17 which sets a limit to the number of basic necessities and prime commodities allowed to be purchased per person each day.
Zamora said that he had coordinated with the management of shopping malls in San Juan for their temporary closure beginning Sunday “until further notice.”
The temporary closure of shopping malls, supported by Ordinance No. 19, was also passed by the City Council.
“However, groceries, supermarkets, pharmacies, drugstores, medical services, banks, and restaurants with home deliveries will remain open,” Zamora said.
Zamora said Greenhills Shopping Center, Promenade, Theater Mall, and Santolan Town Plaza will be indefinitely closed “to ensure the safety of everyone amidst the threat of the COVID-19.”
Infected patients in San Juan
The city mayor has confirmed four new cases of COVID-19 in San Juan, which brings the total number of confirmed cases to 15 as of Sunday night.
“As of this time, we already have 15 confirmed COVID-19 patients from the City of San Juan,” Zamora said.
Zamora shared that most of the COVID-19 patients recorded in the city are residents of Barangay West Crame.
“Meron tayong dalawang tinatawag na hotspot in terms of COVID-19 and this is the Greenhills Shopping Center at ang Barangay West Crame,” the mayor said.
The hotspots, he said, were identified because most of those working in the said shopping center are residents of West Crame.
Zamora has also disclosed that four employees of a salon located in the shopping center have tested positive for the disease.
“Meron isang salon sa Greenhills Shopping Center na apat ang nagpositibo sa kanila. ‘Yung apat na ‘yun hindi lahat taga San Juan pero nagtatrabaho in this specific salon,” he said. The salon was already closed and disinfected.
The mayor said all of the COVID-19 patients in San Juan are in stable condition.