ILOILO – Thirty-four market vendors in Banate town tested positive for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
These included the index cases – two fish vendors who contracted the virus on Feb. 16 – and 32 others who underwent reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests on Wednesday, Feb. 17.
The vendors – mostly asymptomatic – were immediately isolated at a housing facility in Sitio Bantud, Barangay Carmelo, Mayor Carlos Cabangal Jr. told Panay News.
More or less 150 remaining market vendors have been swabbed yesterday, he added. Results are expected to be released today, Feb. 19.
Cabangal also ordered the families of the infected vendors to stay at home pending the release of their test results.
Meanwhile, all stalls in the public market were placed under “surgical extreme enhanced community quarantine” (SEECQ).
Cabangal issued an executive order (EO) imposing the quarantine starting Feb. 16 “which shall terminate on Feb. 19, 2021 or unless a longer period is required to conduct the mandatory random testing or until the result of the RT-PCR test is released, in which case a commensurate number of days for an extension will be implemented.”
In the period of lockdown, Cabangal ordered residents to observe the following:
* Refrain from unnecessary travel until the COVID-19 testing and sanitation process has been completed. To this end, a strict stay-at home for the duration of the SEECQ is ordered, until the same is lifted. For the duration of the SEECQ, only those authorized persons outside residence shall be allowed entrance and exit; and existing health and safety measures shall be strictly imposed, until lifted.
* All forms of transportation, both private and public including the unauthorized movement of persons inside the Municipal Public Market, shall be absolutely restricted for the duration of SEECQ; and
These restrictions, however, do not apply to persons who need immediate hospital care and management, and inter-agency task force officials, authorized local government unit personnel, rural health unit personnel, Department of Health personnel, and all concerned barangay frontliners./PN
