The Binangonan Municipal Government has announced in an advisory on its Facebook page that the operations of boats ferrying passengers on 17 villages in Talim Island in this municipality to and from the mainland have been temporarily halted in compliance with the health protocols set by the government.
Municipal Administrator Russel Ynares told Manila Bulletin that the 40-seater passenger boats, the only means of public transportation going in and out of the island, have been prohibited from ferrying passengers starting earlier this week after President Duterte reimposed modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) over the Mega Manila area, including the province of Rizal.
The operation of public transportation is not allowed under MECQ.
Ynares said the temporary ban on the 40-seater boat operations was also recommended by the island’s representative in the Sangguniang Bayan.
In the same announcement on Facebook, the municipal government said only private boats with one passenger are allowed to operate to and from the mainland to the island ports.
With the temporary banning of boat operations, most of the residents will have to stay home.
Of the 17 villages on Talim Island, only Barangay Binitagan has an active coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) case. As of Aug. 6, there were 110 active cases out of the total 260 confirmed cases in the municipality, and 140 recoveries.