KALIBO, Aklan – The Sanguniang Bayan of this capital town is urging the Department of Health (DOH) to hasten the construction of the Provincial Quarantine Facility in the Kalibo International Airport (KIA).
Vice Mayor Cynthia Dela Cruz recently filed a resolution enjoining DOH regional director Marlyn Convocar and the Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ) to expedite the project.
“Recently, residents of Kalibo have been alarmed with the ongoing threat of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19),” she said.
“Some tourists from Asian countries who were reported to have contact with confirmed cases in some countries, hence, they were referred to Aklan’s public health facility and were advised to temporarily stay for observation. Their confinement brought worries among the residents,” the vice mayor added.
The KIA is considered a major gateway to the world-famous Boracay Island where thousands of foreign and local tourists go to for holiday vacations.
“Relative to this concern, both the DOH and the BOQ are agencies mandated to protect the health of the people against the introduction of spread of diseases particularly infectious diseases, emerging and re-emerging diseases and public health emergencies of international concern from foreign countries into the Philippines hereby requested to hasten the completion of quarantine unit at KIA,” she concluded.
Aside from the COVID-19, the BOQ is currently on heightened alert against the possible entry of the African swine fever in this town./PN
