BY BOY RYAN B. ZABAL
KALIBO, Aklan – Quarantine facilities here are being overwhelmed by rising cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
The local government unit (LGU) thus wants to limit the number of residents returning home from other areas this holiday season.
Mayor Emerson Lachica said two government-established quarantine facilities have reached their full capacity due to a surge in new cases in Barangay Poblacion.
Over 80 people are currently undergoing two weeks of quarantine at the Ati-Atihan County Inn in Barangay Poblacion and the Premiere Hotel in Barangay Andagao.
Lachica decided to limit the issuance of the required Notice of Coordination / LGU Acceptance for locally stranded individuals (LSIs) and returning overseas Filipino workers (ROFs).
Since Dec. 2, LSIs and ROFs who couldn’t be accommodated in quarantine facilities were given the option to stay either in hotels, condotels, apartments, guest houses, hostels or pension inns. But they have to personally pay these establishments.
The Department of Health and the Kalibo Municipal Health Office will check these alternative quarantine facilities to ensure they meet safety guidelines.
The provincial government of Aklan has also responded to Kalibo’s problem by opening another quarantine facility at Marzon Hotel Kalibo to accommodate 18 residents from Purok 1 C. Laserna Poblacion.
Purok 1 is under an extended “surgical enhanced lockdown” until Dec. 11 following the sharp rise in COVID-19 cases linked to a 43-year-old woman who died on Nov. 16.
For its part, the Sangguniang Bayan of Kalibo granted Lachica the authority to negotiate with pension inns and hotels to serve as quarantine centers.
The local government is spending close to P1 million every month to cover the cost of quarantine facilities.
Kalibo has so far seen eight deaths and 186 confirmed COVID-19 cases since the pandemic started in March./PN
