ILOILO – The people of Estancia town may now freely enter the neighboring municipality of Concepcion.
Mayor Raul Banias of Concepcion lifted the travel restriction (Executive Order No. 48, Series of 2020) he imposed on Aug. 3 due to a possible spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) from Estancia.
The restriction also covered the people of Concepcion; they were prohibited from going to Estancia.
According to Banias, the municipal health officer of Estancia, Dr. Greg Rolan Sumile, informed him that there were no new cases in the town, thus the lifting of the travel restriction effective Aug. 28.
In ordering the restriction early this month, Banias noted that two COVID-19 cases in Estancia were not immediately quarantined.
“(They) unnecessarily exposed themselves to others,” according to Banias. He then warned that this could “potentially become a super spreader event if not handled appropriately and swiftly.”
The need to protect the people of Concepcion from the possibility of local transmission – if people from Estancia continued to enter the town – became “urgent”, he stressed.
“Ako worried kay ti naga-transaction kami sa Estancia kag nagadala sang isda. Ang taga-Estancia nagabakal man sang isda sa amon,” according to Banias, a medical doctor.
The two COVID cases in Estancia worked for Mayor Melina Requinto. They were the following:
* 56-year-old male or Patient No. 1307, a locally stranded individual (LSI) who returned to Estancia on July 19 from Metro Manila; he was a personal aide of Requinto
* 33-year-old male or Patient No. 1355, personal driver of Requinto
Patient No. 1355 fetched Patient 1307 at Fort San Pedro in Iloilo City on July 19.
As of Saturday, Aug. 29, Estancia’s COVID-19 cases were at 19 (14 local cases, four locally stranded individuals, one repatriated overseas worker).
Concepcion, on the other hand, had 16 cases (10 recovered, four active cases, two dead)./PN
