DAVAO CITY – The city government of the Island Garden City of Samal (IGACOS) said that the cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) infection has increased prompting the local government to limit the operational capacity of resorts and other establishments.
City Mayor Al David Uy signed on Tuesday, April 13 Executive Order (EO) 284 which amended EO 277. Among the amendments include the limitation of the operational capacity of resort facilities and establishments from 75% to 60%.
The local government also included the residents of Samal Island to pre-book with the resort facilities prior to their entry.
"It was observed that from the time the tourism industry was opened, COVID-19 infection in the City had increased, which may be attributed to the influx of tourists and the free movement of the people conducting various eco-tourism activities," the new EO reads.
"Inspection reports revealed that there were resorts or tourism establishments that did not comply with the required minimum health protocols and scanning of the QR Code of their guests for purposes of contact tracing and capacity monitoring," it added.
As of April 13, IGACOS has 65 active cases of COVID-19. Data from the Provincial Health Office of Davao del Norte shows that the island city has reported a total of 267 COVID-19 cases, 189 recoveries, and 13 deaths. On March 1, the number of COVID-19 cases was at 193.
Last March 1, the city government allowed the resumption of limited tourism activities and business operations of the resort within the city after its request was granted by the Regional Inter-Agency Task Force (RIATF).