Tacloban starts disinfection campaign
TACLOBAN CITY-Personnel of the Tacloban City Fire Office started the disinfection drive across the city on Saturday(March 21) to ensure the area would remain free from virus that causes the coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19).
The fire office, assisted by Filipino-Chinese fire volunteer brigades, started the disinfection at the city’s downtown area which will cover the entire 138 barangays of Tacloban, said city fire marshal officer Senior Inspector Vic Leonard Macasil.
According to him, the disinfection will be done daily from every 3 pm to 6 pm for the next three weeks, coinciding with the period of the intensified restriction imposed by the city government.
“This is our way of making sure that Tacloban City would be free from possible spread of the COVID-19.We will disinfect all the villages of the city,” he said.
Aside from the fire trucks where fire personnel and the volunteers would disinfect the main streets of the city, there are also men on foot who will be in charge in disinfecting the alleys of the barangays.
The disinfectant is made of chlorine mixed with water.
The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry-Tacloban, Leyte chapter, headed by Eugene Tan, donated the several gallons of chlorine being used as disinfectants.
Tacloban has no COVID-19 cases though it has 21 persons under investigation and over 1,804 persons under monitoring as of March 21.
City Mayor Alfred Romualdez has virtually placed Tacloban on a lockdown with the people coming from outside the city prohibited to enter unless for emergency purposes, working in the city and those carrying foods and essential products, among others.
Residents of the city who venture out on the streets are required to use face masks and have a quarantine pass issued by their respective barangays.
Children and old people, especially those who have existing medical conditions, are strictly prohibited to go out of their homes.
City hall personnel and police men roams around the city to ensure that the home stay policy is followed strictly as a citywide curfew which starts at 8 pm to 5 am was imposed.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA/JOEY A. GABIETA)
Archbishop Du to faithful: Church will not abandon you
BY: JOEY A. GABIETA
TACLOBAN CITY- The archbishop of Palo in Leyte assured the faithful that the Church would not abandon them during this time of pandemic caused by the coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19).
Archbishop John Du made his assurance as he earlier directed on the suspension of all public Masses in the archdiocese effective March 20 until he ‘revokes’ it.
“My dear people of God, the Church is not abandoning her children on these trying moments. We are availing the best means to reach out to you. We continuously seek the mercy and compassion of God and the maternal protection of our Lady. Let these words of the Lord be our source of strength and courage…’I do will it, Be Cured ‘I(Lk/V:13),” he said on his pastoral letter he issued on March 18.
“This is a very difficult decision on our part. However, as pastors it is also our solemn moral obligation to abide the advisories of competent authorities in the name of common good and public safety,’ the prelate added.
The government, as part of its measure to prevent further spread of COVID-19 in the country, has imposed prohibition on mass gathering and when involved more people, social distance policy.
The prelate reminded the faithful that while there are no public Masses, he has directed all the priests in the archdiocese to say Masses ‘without congregation’ every day and even ‘virtual’ Masses through live streaming.
“In times of crisis and calamities leading to physical impossibility we can resort to some other prudent means,” Du said.
He also said that baptisms and funerals Masses will not be stopped but those who will attend must be limited to the immediate family members and should at all times, observe the required distance during the entire celebration.
Archbishop Du also asked all the priests to regularly sanitize churches and chapels as another means to stop possible spread of the virus.
Virus disinfection now in full swing in all barangays in Tacloban City; business group, ABC prexy donates disinfectants
TACLOBAN CITY-The disinfection and sanitation in all of the city’s 138 barangays are now in full swing to contain possible spread of the coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19).
This was declared by Councilor Eden Pineda, president of the Association of Barangay Chairmen (ABC) who donated 15 sprayers and chlorine to the barangay leaders on Monday (March 23) together with the Philippine Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry Tacloban-Leyte Inc. which is headed by businessman Eugene Tan.
Personnel of the city’s fire office leads in the disinfection and in the flushin campaign assisted by the members of the Central Tacloban Filipino-Chinese Volunteer Fire Brigade, Delta Volunteer Fire Brigade, and Tacloban Fil-Chinese Chamber Volunteer Fire Brigade and city government personnel.
“We only have 15 sprayers because there are small barangays that can be disinfected for 30 minutes. We can transfer immediately to another barangays” Pineda said.
Earlier, barangay leaders have sought help to Pineda for a massive disinfection of all the villages of the city to ensure that it would remain free of virus that causes COVID-19 as the regional office of the Department of Health has confirmed that Eastern Visayas has one confirmed COVID-19 patient, a 51-year-old woman from Catarman, Northern Samar.
Tan said that he is glad that the barangay officials in the city are pro-active, acting on their own to help their barangays free from the virus that has affected almost all countries of the world. (LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA)
Samar Rep. Sarmiento admits to have close contact with COVID-19; goes into self-quarantine
TACLOBAN CITY-Samar Rep. Edgar Mary Sarmiento said that he is now in self-quarantine admitting that he had “close contact” with individuals who were later found to be positive of COVID-19.
He, however, said that despite of his self-quarantine, he continues to work for the benefits of his constituents in Samar’s first congressional district.
Sarmiento made this disclosure in a message he posted on his Facebook account on Wednesday (March 25).
“Some of you might be wondering of my whereabouts, reason why I have to come up with my official statement. I am in self-quarantine and have to make sure that I will not infect my beloved constituents and family because I was in close contact with individuals who have been tested positive of COVID-19.I cannot disclose any other information about this to ensure their privacy,” he said.
Earlier ACT-CIS Rep.Eric Yap admitted to be positive of the coronavirus disease 2019.
Sarmiento said that while he feels week, he did not take any diagnostic test provided by the Research Institute of Tropical Medicine (RITM), alluding to reports that some of the country’ officials used their position to have their samples taken to the disadvantage of those who are mostly needed.
“I have not taken the diagnostic test for COVID-19. Although I feel weak, but asymptomatic as of the moment. I do not fit the Department of Health’s criteria for testing since we have limited resources rather I have to give way to symptomatic cases and in dire need of the test. The proper and responsible action to take is to practice self-quarantine for at least 14 days to ensure that I have not been infected. I am doing it for 21 days, the 7 additional days would be an allowance to guarantee that I am indeed virus-free,” he said.
Sarmiento, who is the chairman of the committee on transportations, attended a special session conducted by the House of Representatives which granted Pres.Rodrigo Duterte special powers to address the COVID-19 menace in the country.
Still, he said, he continues to work with officials of the district like the mayors to address the COVID-19 problem in the congressional district like proper information dissemination and in the distribution of food packs to the villagers.
“I, together with the Office of Majority Leader Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez and Tingog Partylist Rep. Yedda Romualdez, lobbied for the establishment of a Regional COVID-19 testing laboratory in Tacloban City. Once all the testing requirements are in place, there can be more COVID-19 tests that can be done in our region without the need to send samples to RITM in Manila,” he said.
The Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center is being considered as the testing center for Eastern Visayas.
“For those of us who can, let us continue to heed our government’s advice: stay at home. With this pandemic that is haunting our country and the rest of the world, let us continuously pray that finally the virus will be eradicated. In time, we will recover from this pandemic,” Sarmiento said. (JOEY A. GABIETA)