Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) USec. Epimaco Densing suggested to Central Visayas provinces to have a common border control as a means to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus disease (Covid) within the region.
He made the suggestion during the virtual meeting attended by various provincial governors and mayors in Central Visayas on Aug. 17, 2021. Gov. Arthur Yap attended the said meeting together with Dr. Cesar Tomas Lopez, according to reports.
Aside from officials from the DILG, there were officials from the Department of Health (DOH) in attendance in the said virtual meeting.
Densing said that it is important to control Covid spread as some parts of the region are already under Alert Level 4. Thus, the need to have a common border control just like what Bohol is doing. Yap extended the border control by banning non-essential travel to Bohol until Aug. 31, 2021.
Aside from Bohol, Siquijor and the province and city of Cebu are under Alert Level 4, which means that the health care facility utilization rate is more than 70%, according to Lopez.
Densing also emphasized the need to have reliable data so that local chief executives are able to make the right and timely decisions to contain the spread of Covid.
The DILG official said that the national government is willing to spend for the hiring of additional contact tracers if the need arises.
