Mayor Evelio Leonardia here emphasized anew the importance of retaining the authority of local government units (LGUs) in imposing their health protocols on arriving locally stranded individuals (LSIs) amid the continuing threat of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).
Leonardia, national president of the League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP), raised the concern during Monday’s virtual meeting of top officers of the Union of the Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP) with Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., the chief implementer of the country’s National Policy Against Covid-19, and concerned Cabinet officials, including Interior Secretary Eduardo Año and Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana.
“It’s all about coordination,” he said after the meeting discussed the protocols of managing the arrival of LSIs in their respective cities, municipalities, and provinces.
Leonardia supported the suggestion of the LGUs to coordinate with both the regional and national Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases for efficiency and accessibility.
He said Año himself adheres to the points he raised that LGUs must take an extra mile in initiating protocols for returning LSIs.
In Bacolod, Section 2 of Executive Order 44, series of 2020, provides that all LSIs arriving from Manila, Cebu, and other high-risk areas would be required to submit to a mandatory reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test administered by licensed health personnel of the City Health Office at the soonest possible time upon arrival.
All LSIs will then be endorsed to the village chief or the Barangay Health Emergency Response Team.
They will be required to undergo monitored home quarantine until their test results come out negative but the LSI may opt to undergo quarantine at the city-designated facility until his or her RT-PCR test result comes out negative.
As of Monday afternoon, Bacolod had 286 confirmed Covid-19 cases, including seven deaths.
There are currently 210 active cases and 69 recoveries. (PNA)