Total entry ban to Bohol starts Monday til Friday

TUBIGON, Bohol March 14, (PIA)—Starting Monday, that is 12:01 of March 16, 2020, until 11:59 of Friday, March 20, 2020, Bohol will not be accepting any domestic and foreign air and sea travelers, be they Boholanos or not, as the province implements community quarantine measures against the dreaded 2019 corona virus disease (COVID-19). 

This means Boholanos who are outside Bohol intending to come home may do so and has to be in, before midnight of said dates or they will have to wait until Friday, to be allowed entry. 

The five day suspension also expressly stated that all foreign vessels are not allowed to dock in all ports of entry and all crew of vessels in anchorage are banned from getting off the boats for whatever reasons, according to Executive Order No. 2020-08 which Bohol Governor Arthur Yap issued March 13, 2020. 

The measure is the first most drastic step which Bohol, a prime tourist destination implements in a desperate bid to prevent the entry of the highly infectious virus that attacks a person’s respiratory system. 

Bohol incidentally lists its most number of tourists from China, Korea and continental Europe; countries where the novel virus has caused massive concern.

As of March 13, the country’s Department of Health (DOH) has reported at least 52 cases of confirmed COVID-19 and that the transmission has been local. 

This as, in the DOH reports, of 118, 326 cases worldwide, several countries are in total lockdown, in a race to contain the infectious pandemic from further spreading. 

Spread through droplets that an infected person expels upon coughing and sneezing, the virus has no known cure as yet, although studies have proven that it does not survive high temperatures but could live for hours in surfaces. 

The virus which can be in these surfaces like handrails, currencies, mobile phones and elevator buttons could be transferred to a host when one touches it to his respiratory system in inadvertently touching the nose, mouth or the eyes. 

Health professionals however said the disease is hardly fatal except to those with weakened body resistance like the old and infants, those with compromised immune systems and those with underlying illnesses. 

Due to this, public advisories on proper hand washing in full 20 seconds using soap and water, proper use of alcohol based sanitizers, proper coughing and  sneezing etiquettes have been spread in social media and other information broadcast platforms. 

The public has also been told to avoid large crowds, keep a safe distance from potential carrier persons, do away with handshakes and other social graces that include touching, as well as unnecessarily going out.  

At this, the executive order also expressly discourages mass gatherings including cockfighting, concerts and other analogous events, while it calls for the observance of proper hygiene and social distancing regulations. 

According to Provincial Capitol sources, the order means while it is safe for Boholanos to go about their daily tasks while keeping to the COVID 19 safety regulations, travel to Bohol from outside is banned, and this order includes small sea crafts not registered for public transport. 

The same sources said there is no ban for travel going out of Bohol even in the pendency of the suspension order. 

The EO also lays out the possibility of an imposition of community quarantines: barangay-wide for a case of two COVID-19 positive in different households in the barangay, town or city-wide for two positive COVID-19 in two of its different barangays and province-wide when there are two COVID-19 positive cases in at least two of its different towns. 

Moreover, the order mandates the putting in place of a Barangay Emergency Management Plan to set up purok level daily monitoring reports on residents with colds, cough and fever, as well as for the Department of Trade and Industry to monitor its implemented price freeze and impose appropriate sanctions to erring establishments. (rahchiu/PIA7/Bohol)

While Bohol closes its doors beginning Monday, history of crossing borders by small non passenger boats chartered to Bohol remains a concern, although the TWG on Infectious diseases Security group composed of the Coast Guard and Philippine Navy as well as Maritime Police in Bohol may have seen the problem and has already a solution in place. (rahchiu/PIA7/Bohol)