Commercial sea travel between Bacolod City to Dumangas and Iloilo ports resume today, June 1 as approved by the Regional Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases in Western Visayas. But in an executive order, Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr of Iloilo province said that movement within the province of Iloilo will be limited only to essential travel.
The lifting of travel ban was welcomed by sea port operators after a week of no operations between Bacolod and Iloilo. The regional IATF reminded the public to observe minimum health standards and coordinate with their local government units for travel requirements before arranging their trips.
Based on the latest quarantine status released by Malacañang the city of Iloilo will remain under Modified Enhance Community Quarantine (MECQ) for until June 15. The Department of Health in Western Visayas classified the city of Iloilo as high risk due to the continuing surge in COVID-19 cases.
Trenas said the month of May showed a dramatic increase in COVID-19 cases in the city with 193 positive patients as of yesterday, May 31, being waitlisted in the hospitals.
ESSENTIAL TRAVELS ONLY
Meanwhile, Defensor in his Executive Order No. 175 imposed restrictions on non-essential travel starting June 4 to June 18 to limit the movement within towns and cities of Iloilo province. But the entire province of Iloilo will still remain under Modified General Community Quarantine.
According to Defensor border checkpoints will be set-up in every localities to ensure that only essential workers are allowed to cross borders in the next 2 weeks as a part of their effort to slow down the spread of the virus.
Workers who will be crossing boundaries are advised to secure travel passes to ensure unhampered travel. Government workers may secure their pass from their respective government offices, while private workers are required to secure a pass from their employers.
