Navotas City is only allowing residents to visit cemeteries by schedule to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) infection in the city this Undas or All Souls' Day.
Mayor Toby Tiangco on Saturday said that the residents should first reach out to the contact number provided by the local government to express their intent to visit a cemetery and get a schedule when they will be allowed to do so.
"May sistema ng scheduling na magtetext sila, bibigyan sila ng oras para siguradong hindi puno 'yung cemetery (We are scheduling them through text messages. We will give them a schedule to ensure that the cemetery will not be crowded)," Tiangco said over CNN Philippines interview.
According to him, residents are then given two hours to visit and pay respects to their departed loved ones. However, they are not allowed to eat or drink there as the said activities might lead to catching the virus or infecting others.
"Then, may pagitan na two hours para sa labas pasok ng mga tao (from the cemetery) and then two hours ulit para doon sa mga (bagong papasok) (Then, there is a two-hour gap for the exit of first batch visitors before another batch would be allowed," Tiangco added.
Tiangco said that they are taking various safety measures to maintain its gain in its COVID-19 response.
"Ang gusto lang namin maging safe (muna ang sitwasyon) bago lumabas ang tao (We first want to make sure that the situation is safe before allowing our people to go out)," he said.
As of the latest University of the Philippines' OCTA Research data, Navotas City is the second lowest city among 17 Metro Manila cities in terms of COVID-19 attack rate.
The city only has an attack rate of 4.9 percent per 1,000 population, according to the said research.
"This serves as a validation of all our efforts to keep our constituents safe from COVID-19. However, we need to stay vigilant and careful. We cannot let our guard down because our cases could go up any time," he said.