JORDAN, Guimaras – The local government here shut down on Friday the town hall for decontamination after the island province recorded 20 new cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
The closure would be until 12 a.m. of March 22.
The municipal hall is located in Barangay Poblacion.
According to Mayor Ruben Corpuz, some of the close contacts of the 20 new COVID-19 cases of Guimaras were employees of the Jordan municipal government.
“A thorough contact tracing and disinfection will be implemented and all direct contacts shall be swabbed and undergo home quarantine,” said Corpuz.
In Executive Order No. 19, Series of 2021 issued on Friday, the mayor also mandated the following:
* Only the Municipal Health Team and persons authorized by the Municipal Mayor are allowed to enter the vicinity (town hall) during the duration of closure.
* All transactions and activities at the town hall are postponed.
* Violation of this order and other issuances pertaining to COVID-19 Response will be dealt with to the fullest extent of the law.
A day prior to the town hall’s closure, Jordan itself recorded six new COVID-19 cases. These were in barangays Lawi, Rizal and Alaguisoc with one case each and in Barangay Poblacion with three cases.
From these six cases, the Rural Health Unit managed to trace 47 close contacts who were immediately swabbed for testing.
These close contacts were made up of policemen, staff of the Philippine Red Cross, four municipal employees, and 27 residents.
As of March 18, cumulative COVID-19 cases in Jordan reached 118. But with 103 cases having recovered and five deaths, active cases dropped to just 10./PN
