By Donna Rempillo
ARAYAT, Pampanga – A "no entry, no exit" policy is strictly being implemented in all checkpoints here to maintain the COVID-free status of the municipality.
Arayat and three other municipalities -- Masantol, Minalin, and San Luis -- were identified by the Provincial Health Office to have no confirmed cases of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) as of April 22.
The implementation of the “no entry, no xxit” policy is the strategy of the municipal government to stop the coronavirus. Residents going to Magalang and Cabaiao in Nueva Ecija will not be allowed to enter the municipality.
“You know there’s a COVID-19 confirmed case where you are going, why would you dare to go there? This is why we are implementing the lockdown,” Mayor Emmanuel “Bon” Alejandrino said.
He assured residents that the municipality has ample supply of food and other essential commodities. Only frontline workers are allowed to come and go as well as patients who need immediate medical attention.
Relief supplies and financial aid from the local government will be distributed directly to residents, Alejandrino said.
“We have Cabalens who work in Bacoor but we will not allow them to return. We will just send them financial aid via money transfer,” he added.
“ We gave prior notice three days before imposing the lockdown. As a precautionary measure, we can’t just let residents enter and exit our area because there are already confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the places that they pass through,” the mayor said.