KIDAPAWAN CITY (MindaNews / 13 March) – Mayor Joseph Evangelista has declared a suspension of classes in all levels in the city from March 13-22 to prevent the possible spread of the dreaded coronavirus disease (Covid-19).
Evangelista issued Executive Order Number 2020-024 around 1:30 p.m. Friday suspending classes and postponing all school-initiated activities, barangay assemblies, women’s month celebrations and other public gatherings on the same dates.
Arc at the entrance to Kidapawan City. MindaNews photo by GEONARRI SOLMERANO
The dates might be extended, depending on the recommendation of the Expanded Inter-Agency Task Force Against Covid-19 (TF Covid-19), the order said.
Evangelista also urged city residents who have recently traveled from Metro Manila and outside the Philippines, regardless of country, to undergo a 14-day home quarantine.
Over 100 countries have reported confirmed cases of Covid-19, which the World Health Organization has declared as a pandemic.
The 14-day period shall start from the time the resident arrived in Kidapawan, Evangelista said.
The mayor directed the public to undergo thermal scanning at the entrance of the city hall before entering any of the offices inside.
People whose temperatures reach 37.5 degrees Celsius or above will not be allowed to enter the city hall, and the City Health Office and City Hospital will handle them.
All department managers are enjoined to impose proper “social distancing” (at least one meter) in waiting areas of all city government offices, he added.
Meanwhile, Evangelista said only authorized personnel are allowed to enter the evacuation sites for people affected by the earthquakes in October last year.
Those who wanted to visit any of their relatives there must first secure a permit from the City Social Welfare and Development Office, he said.
Passengers coming from areas outside the city who would disembark at the Overland Terminal are ordered to undergo thermal scanning before they are allowed to leave the place, the order said.
The mayor ordered the conduct of regular disinfection activities in all terminals of buses, passenger vans, multicabs and tricycles, as well as educational institutions and places of worship.
In case of positive COVID-19 cases, the mayor said all private hospitals should set up their respective holding areas for isolation and quarantine purposes.
He said that if there are at least two confirmed COVID-19 cases in Kidapawan, he will order a community quarantine, which may mean restricting travel to and from the city. (Malu Cadeliña-Manar/MindaNews)
