BAGUIO CITY March 19 – The city government ordered owners of establishments allowed to operate under the prevailing Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine to impose the no mask, no entry policy for their customers as part of the stringent rules and regulations that must be observed to prevent the possible spread of the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) in the city.
Mayor Benjamin B. Magalong said the strict implementation of the no mask, no entry policy is part of instilling into the minds of the people their obligation to help stop the spread the spread of the deadly virus to the city’s populace.
The city chief executive also directed the policemen staffing the checkpoints in the different parts of the city to make sure occupants of motor vehicles wear face masks before being allowed to enter the city, even if Baguio remains COVID-19 free.
Further, people without face masks will not be allowed to enter the city public market and other establishments allowed to operate under the present situation, while the skeletal work force of public and private offices are mandated to wear their face masks and are not allowed to enter their offices without wearing such prescribed masks.
Police personnel conducting foot patrol around the city and in the different barangays compel people who are out of their residences and doing important activities to wear their masks as the same will be for their own protection from the deadly virus and other illnesses that will compromise their health.
The city government was forced to strictly implement the no mask, no entry policy in the city after it was observed there were numerous individuals out of their houses not wearing their masks when the enhanced community quarantine was declared by President Rodrigo Duterte in the entire Luzon island.
City officials and health authorities advised residents that due to the scarce supply of face masks in the city, they must learn to make their own face masks to serve as a protective device for them not to contract the deadly virus as the government is all out in the implementation of stringent policies that will prevent the further spread of the virus to the greater part of the population.
The city mayor urged the residents to cooperate with the implementation of the stringent policies against the possible spread of COVID-19 so that the people will be spared from the illness and to allow the situation to slowly normalize.
As part of the initiatives of the concerned government agencies and the city government to ensure the non-overpricing of face masks, authorities are now going around the different establishments selling face masks at prevailing prices to prevent opportunists from taking advantage of the crisis situation to unduly increase the prices of face masks.
However, one of the problems in the city is the lack of supply of face masks in the different establishments that are supposed to dispose the said product, thus, people end up making their own face masks to be able to comply with the strict implementation of the no mask, no entry policy of the city for the meantime.
By Dexter A. See
