By Marie Tonette Marticio
TACLOBAN City – Tarangan, Samar Mayor Arnel Tan has placed his municipality under total lockdown after the Department of Health (DOH) in Eastern Visayas confirmed community transmission, and nine coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in his jurisdiction.
The mayor said the lockdown would be strictly imposed in Poblacion barangays where the six new cases were reported. "No residents from these areas shall be allowed to go out of their residence except for emergency cases, and to buy essential needs within the locality for only three times a week," he stressed.
Tan added that, for the rest of the barangays, only one person per household would be allowed to leave or enter the Poblacion to buy essentials needs. That person would be required to bring a certification from the barangay chairperson, and would only be allowed to dock at the Municipal Wharf where he needs to contact the store in order to prepare his goods for transport without having to roam around the area.
Travelers from Tarangnan would no longer be allowed to dock at Calbayog City and Catbalogan City Ports for any purpose.
"Border to border transactions shall be allowed for groceries from Poblacion only. No more travel authority would be issued to any private person who will try to go out of the municipality for any reason except for emergency cases only," said Tan.
He ordered barangay officials to facilitate the distribution of food packs because the town’s risk reduction and management team had to be placed under isolation after one of its members tested positive for COVID-19.
Tan added that mass testing will be conducted on all persons identified as direct contacts of the COVID-19 posiitve patients.
Meanwhile, Samar Governor Michael Tan has assured assistance to provide food for the people of Tarangnan in order to prevent them from going out.
They would also lead in conducting mass rapid testing and contact tracing of those who had close contact with the patients who are now isolated at the Tarangnan Community Hospital.