Bontoc, Mountain Province – Gov. Bonifacio C. Lacwasan, Jr. cited that the discipline shown by the residents living in the province’s ten towns greatly contributed to the minimal number of Corona Virus Disease (COVID) 2019 cases since the implementation of the different types of community quarantine status for different local governments in the country.
Lacwasan pointed out that the adherence of the young and old folks to the time-honored ‘inayan’ virtue made it possible for them to immediately adjust to the stringent health and safety protocols to prevent the rapid spread of the deadly virus in the various communities provincewide.
“We did not have a difficult time reminding our people to abide by the prescribed health and safety protocols that is why we had no COVID case since the implementation of the Luzonwide lockdown last March. We have our time-honored ‘inayan’ virtue of our people that made them immediately abide by the community quarantine guidelines as soon as these were cascaded to them by our municipal officials, law enforcers, health personnel and volunteers,” Gov. Lacwasan stressed.
The governor claimed the initial COVID cases in the province were either close contacts of confirmed COVID cases from other places outside the province, locally stranded individuals and returning overseas Filipino workers, while the latest cases are frontliners who were probably exposed to the elements that allowed them to contract the virus.
According to him, the ability of the provincial and municipal governments to strictly implement localized lockdowns in their areas of jurisdiction also contributed in restricting the movement of people in and out of their communities that controlled the rapid spread of the virus in their places.
Lacwasan emphasized the threat of COVID still remains that is why people should continue adhering to the established health and safety protocols, such as the mandatory wearing of face masks, the observance of physical distancing, and the continuous practice of personal hygiene, for them to prevent people from contracting the virus and eventually transmitting them in their communities.
He reported that the provincial and municipal governments will remain strict in the implementation of their border controls with neighboring places to prevent the entry of asymptomatic individuals into the province.
Lacwasan said the inherent behavior of people in the villages of the province in adhering to the time-honored practice of village lockdowns as part of their rich culture and traditions have effectively contributed in keeping the COVID cases in the whole province manageable even with the rise in similar cases in the neighboring provinces following the relaxed implementation of the community quarantine status with the downgrading of the status of most parts of the country over the past several months. (Hent)
(Source: Baguio Herald Express website)