LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – The municipal government recently imposed the online registration of locally stranded individuals (LSIs) and returning Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) prior to their entry to the municipality effective August 17, 2020 to help in controlling the rapid spread of the dreaded Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the locality.
Under Executive Order No. 062, series of 2020, Mayor Romeo K. Salda stated that LSIs and OFWs wanting to go back to the municipality should first secure the appropriate medical clearance from the city or municipal health services office to be able to get travel authority from the police station in their points of origin.
Further, he advised the LSIs and returning OFWs by simply clicking https://docs.google.com/…/1FAlpQLSdsy2CF54aPj_YDlz…/viewform…OR visit www.latrinidad.gov.ph.
After registration, he stated that health workers will be immediately dispatched to check on the suitability of the residence for home quarantine while awaiting their call from the local government for the schedule of their return to the municipality.
The mayor disclosed that the required certificate of acceptance will be sent through email or messenger and that the LSIs and OFWs are advised to present received certificate of acceptance, either printed or through cellphone photo, at the checkpoint upon entry in the municipality.
According to him, the LSIs and the returning OFWs must immediately proceed to the triage area at the provincial temporary quarantine facility located within the DPWH Compound, Wangal.
Mayor Salda asserted that mandatory 14-day quarantine, either home or community isolation unit depending on the assessment of triage personnel should be complied.
The municipal mayor claimed LSIs and returning OFWs who will not pre-register online will not be allowed to enter the municipality anytime.
He stipulated that per report of the municipal health services office, a number of LSIs and returning OFWs enter the municipality during the wee hours of the night whether stealthily or unintentionally thereby precluding health authorities from monitoring their entry and their health condition.
He admitted that the aforesaid situation places the health and security of community members at further risk and has been perceived as possible contributory to the recent surge in the number of positive COVID-19 cases coming from the different barangays of the municipality.
Salda explained that free online registration is a proven, safe and convenient method of providing for more efficient data management and detailed reporting and in helping curb the rapid spread of the virus in the municipality and further prevent possible overcrowding in the concerned offices.
Members of the municipal inter-agency task force for the management of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases unanimously agreed that there arises the need to require online registration of returning OFWs and LSIs prior to their entry to the municipality. By Hent
