LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – Mayor Romeo K. Salda ordered the suspension of classes in all levels in the public and private education institutions in the municipality from March 16-22, 2020 and the conduct of crowd drawing events as a precautionary measure against the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19).
Salda pointed out that the suspension of classes and crowd drawing events is pursuant to the established protocols of the health department and as one of the preventive measures to ensure that there will be no confirmed COVID-19 cases and local transmission of the deadly virus in the municipality in the coming months.
“We have to be proactive in our approaches to the emerging infectious disease so that we will be able to prevent our constituents from contracting the deadly virus that will surely have a serious negative impact in our daily lives,” Mayor Salda stressed.
He explained that public gatherings such as graduation ceremonies, cooperative assemblies, programs, meetings, concerts, among other activities that will attract the convergence of people will be temporarily suspended until further notice while concerned authorities are still assessing the status of COVID-19 in the country.
In the case of indigenous rituals, weddings and family gatherings, Salda explained that the concerned families should coordinate with the municipal health office to ensure that there will be health personnel who will extend whatever assistance for whatever purpose and that the concerned families should ensure that they have no foreign visitors so as not to complicate the situation in the conduct of the said events within their residences.
According to him, what is important at this point is for the people to cooperate with the stringent health protocols that are being implemented by the local government and the health department to allow the prevailing situation to normalize and prevent the deadly virus from affecting residents from the municipality.
Earlier, Salda issued an order that lifted the temporary suspension of the conduct of crowd drawing events in the municipality late last month to pave the way for the improvement in business activities in the locality after it was heavily affected by the COVID-19 scare.
He admitted that even trading of vegetables from the different municipalities which are being done at the La Trinidad Vegetable Trading Post and at the Benguet Agri Pinoy Trading Center (BAPTC) had been affected by the reports on confirmed COVID cases and local transmission of the deadly virus considering that wholesale buying prices of vegetables have significantly dropped over the past several days as orders from establishments based outside the province tremendously dropped due to the alleged absence of their clients.
Salda expressed optimism that the situation will normalize in the next several weeks but what is important now is for the people to heed the advisories for their own safety considering that the status of the deadly virus is still unpredictable where it could eventually result to community transmission which should not happen if people are fully informed of the ways on how to avoid contracting the illness that might compromise their health in the future.
He urged the people to be calm and sober about the situation considering that the government is still in control of the situation although there are certain protocols that have to be strictly observed.
By Hent
