TACLOBAN City- While the province of Eastern Samar has been reverted to general community quarantine (GCQ), the Borongan city government has issued an order declaring parts of 28 barangays as critical zones, and placing them under granular lockdown effective Sunday, November 8, while contact tracing is ongoing.

City Mayor Jose Ivan Dayan Agda said Executive Order No. JIDCA-002-1120 also prescribed stringent protocols in the entire city amidst the continuing spike in the number of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases.

He said that all barangays with two or more contacts of positive or first-generation contacts of COVID-19 cases shall be referred to as critical barangays. 

Barangay officials, through the advisory of the Public Health and Safety Taskforce, shall declare a particular area as critical zones where the houses of identified contacts of positive or first-generation contacts are situated.

"Upon identification of the critical zones, the movement of individuals within the identified zones in the barangay, including its nearby houses and surrounding areas, shall be limited and restricted," he said.

He added that during the implementation of the zoning measures, the concerned barangay shall issue only one travel pass for each household which shall serve as a basis for going to and from the critical zone. 

"Only essential and necessary movement, including work, must be allowed within the critical zone as may be allowed by the Barangay officials concerned," the order stated.

To ease their burden, Agda said the city government will provide food assistance to all affected families situated in all declared critical zones.

The concerned barangay officials may also implement necessary measures including the assistance of law enforcement officers in the implementation of the zoning strategy.

Minimum health standards must be complied with, such as wearing a face mask, wearing face shields, and observance of physical distancing. All forms of mass gatherings were temporarily prohibited except essential government services.

Restaurants may accommodate dine-in orders at 30 percent capacity subject to strict compliance with the minimum health standard protocols and logbook system. 

All restaurants, hotels, and other similar establishments are temporarily prohibited from serving alcoholic drinks and liquors. Drinking in public is also prohibited.

Except for emergency cases and for purchasing food and medicine, all persons below 21 years of age and 60 years old and above shall be prohibited from going out of their homes. Curfew will be from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m.

All tourism sites, as well as category IV establishments such as massage parlors, salons, spa, and barbershops, were temporarily closed.

Meanwhile, the official assured that movement of all types of cargoes by land, air, or sea within and across areas placed under any form of community quarantine shall be unhampered. 

Workers in industries with cargo, trucking, courier delivery, and port operations shall likewise be allowed to transit across areas placed under any form of community quarantine, provided that only a maximum of five personnel may operate cargo and delivery vehicles by land, with or without load.

Drivers and personnel will be required to present a medical certificate issued by the health officer of the place of origin and a valid driver’s license of the driver and valid ids of other personnel.

Non-resident cargo and truck drivers and personnel whose purpose is only to deliver cargo inside Borongan City will be allowed to unload their cargoes only at the designated unloading area within the City. 

They will only be allowed to stay for the duration of unloading only at the two border checkpoints.