KALIBO, Aklan – To stop the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the Sangguniang Bayan (SB) called for a “no movement Sunday” policy – restricting people’s movement every Sunday except farming and fishing which are vital economic activities for the province.
Kalibo currently has 227 active COVID-19 cases and 100 deaths.
Mayor Emerson Lachica and the Municipal Inter-Agency Task Force thumbed down the proposal. It would hurt “95 percent” of small entrepreneurs, he said.
Even shortening business hours from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. already has adverse effects on their income, said Lachica, especially the vendors at the public market and shopping center.
“One day of closure is already a lot to take for restaurants, fruit and vegetable vendors, convenience stores,” the mayor added.
The current restrictions, according to Lachica, have even already forced many businesses to temporarily shut down.
In proposing the “no movement Sunday” policy, Councilor Ketchie Luces said, “There is a need to take abrupt action to stop the continued spread of COVID-19 so that the economic sector could immediately return to usual business.”
The only way to contain the transmission, Luces stressed, is to temporarily stop people from moving from one place to another.”/PN
