At least two cities in the metropolis—population nearly 13 million people—have registered 186 coronavirus cases and 19 deaths, with Bataan reporting its seventh positive case and Ilocos Sur registering its first.
In Metro Manila, San Juan City Mayor Francis Zamora himself admitted in a statement he has gone self-quaratine after one staff had tested positive for COVID-19, the same city which reported 73 cases and 10 deaths.
Quezon City itself, the country’s former capital, has reported 186 cases and 19 deaths, with nine recoveries thus far.
“In the interest of public safety, I will be going on self-quarantine starting today until April 11, 2020. Rest assured that… I will continue to manage San Juan’s day to day operations,” Zamora said in a statement distributed to media, adding he was “in perfect physical condition.”
In Quezon City
The former national capital has reported additional nine cases of COVID-19, raising the total of confirmed cases to 113.
The city government reported additional two deaths with a total of 19 deaths but no new recovery from the already reported nine.
“The total number of recoveries in the city is nine,” the city government said in its official Viber account.
Mayor Joy Belmonte placed 16 villages under extreme enhanced community quarantine—Tandang Sora, Kalusugan, Ramon Magsaysay, Maharlika,
Tatalon, Batasan Hills, Pasong Tamo, Central, San Roque, Paligsahan, Bagong Lipunan ng Crame, South Triangle, Culiat, Bahay Toro, E. Rodriguez and San Isidro Labrador.
In Paranaque City
Despite the citywide curfew imposed in Paranaque City from 8 pm to 5 am, several foreigners were seen in public places and hotels drinking beers and liquors until wee hours and completely disregarding social distancing.
This prompted the city government to impose a ban on selling liquors to discourage the people from gathering at night clubs and street parties during the enhanced community quarantine period.
Mayor Edwin Olivarez signed Executive Order 24 directing the Business Permit and Licensing Office to suspend the selling and serving liquor and other alcoholic and intoxicating beverages in the city.
“Our officials sees the need to impose total liquor ban as another measure to prevent social gatherings on public places and mitigate
possible spread of corona virus,” Olivarez said.
The Executive Order stated that managers of hotels, resorts, restaurants, and other establishments of the same nature are prohibited to sell, furnish, offer, and buy intoxicating substances in any place within the city.
In Laguna
Governor Ramil Hernandez, alarmed by the rising number of patients who tested positive for the coronavirus has placed his province under a total lockdown.
Hernandez, using his FaceBook page, also appealed to the public for cooperation and understanding during the lockdown implementation.
Other people authorized to be outdoors are employees of telecommunication and energy companies, emergency responders including the local government unit officials, members of security services, members of healthcare services including officials from the Department of Health, employees of funeral parlors, the officiating ministers, the family of the deceased patient, employees of water companies and sanitation employees.
As of 3 p.m. Saturday, Laguna has had 23 confirmed COVID-19 cases in three towns and six cities despite being part of the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine implemented by the national government to containthe coronavirus outbreak.
In Baguio City
The country’s summer capital, nestled 5,000 feet above sea level, has banned the entry of non-essential travelers and stranded residents except those coming from the province of Benguet, where Baguio City is, according to Mayor Benjamin Magalong.
In a statement, Magalong said he issued the directive on Friday to boost the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) imposed by the national government in the entire Luzon on March 16 to contain the coronavirus.
“We are escalating our ECQ status and we will no longer allow Baguio residents who are stranded in other provinces (except Benguet) to enter the city in the next two weeks,” Magalong said.
Magalong said local health officials told him in a meeting on Friday that all the city’s confirmed COVID cases had travel history from areas infected with the coronavirus.
“With this information, an opportunity is present to fast-track our healing process by closing our borders in the next two weeks to non-essential travels except food and other essential item deliveries and cargoes,” he said.
In Ilocos Sur
Ilocos Sur Governor Ryan Luis Singson has confirmed the first coronavirus case in his province, a 55-year-old woman from Barangay Magsaysay in the southernmost province of Tagudin, which has a common border with La Union.
Singson said the unidentified woman was initially brought to the Ilocos Sur District Hospital in Tagudin last March 21 after she had lost consciousness.
A doctor, who has the same family name as the governor’s, said the initial diagnosis of the attending doctor was a transient ischemic attack (TIA) because of the lack of respiratory symptoms.
A TIA, according to Mayo Clinic in the United States, is “a temporary period of symptoms similar to those of a stroke. A TIA usually lasts only a few minutes and doesn’t cause permanent damage.”
In Bataan
Governor Abet Garcia has reported the seventh positive case of COVID-19 in his province, only 90 kms from Manila.
“According to the report of Provincial Health Office, the seventh case is a 70-year old female doctor who had visitors from Manila in her house in Balanga City based on the conducted contact-tracing”, the governor said in his social media account.
“On March 10, the patient experienced fever, cough, sore throat, and difficulty in breathing. She was confined at a local hospital five days later,” he said, saying Bataan has 9,042 PUM (persons under monitoring),722 mild PUI (persons under investigation), and 72 moderate to severe PUI.
In Angeles City
Four alleged coronavirus disease patients from Quezon City were transported to a medical facility in this city on Friday night that prompted local chief executive here to clamp down the hospital to prevent ingress and egress of patients.
The patients, including one who tested positive and three under investigation, were discovered confined at the Philippine Rehabilitation Institute (PRI) situated at Barangay Pampang the following day, March 27.
Mayor Carmelo Lazatin, Jr., said he would file a legal action against the management of PRI for what he called blatant disregard of the standing protocol set by the Inter-Agency Task Force by accepting three alleged corona virus patients without informing the city government.
The PRI has put the entire Angeles in danger from the deadly corona virus disease, said Lazatin.
“The city government will prepare legal actions against PRI for putting the entire Angeles City in danger. Under my term, that hospital will not be reopened,” Lazatin said.
Lazatin ordered the deployment of policemen and force multipliers in hospital surroundings after he learned Saturday night that PRI allowed the admission of COVID 19 positive patients and three others PUIs. With Butch Gunio, Jess Malabanan