Misor goes stricter on travel rules

By Herbie Gomez, Editor in chief

MISAMIS Oriental officials have stepped up their health measures in the province as the number of Covid-19 cases in the country surged, and as experts abroad warned of a new variant of the virus from the Philippines.

Governor Yevgeny Vincente Emano issued stricter travel protocols based on the Covid-19 Inter-Agency Task Force resolution that allowed local governments to set their own rules on travelers, provincial health officer Jerie Calingasan said Wednesday.

Dr. Calingasan said all travelers to Misamis Oriental, especially those from Metro Manila and other areas where the number of Covid-19 cases dramatically increased, would be quarantined for at least seven days unless they could show certificates that they tested negative, based on Emano’s order.

Lawyer Jeffrey Saclot, spokesperson of the province’s Covid-19 task force, said capitol may do this based on the recent IATF resolution that gave local governments discretion.

Saclot said the preventive measure is timely given the surge in the number of Covid-19 cases and the discovery of the Philippine variant of the virus. “We are not loosening our grip in the campaign to stop Covid-19 from spreading further in the province,” he said.

Emano’s executive order however does not apply to travelers entering the province via the Laguindingan Airport that serves as a major and common entry point in northern Mindanao. Saclot said travellers are being checked in the municipalities across the province, and not at the airport to avoid unnecessarily inconveniencing people.

The stricter travel protocols in Misamis Oriental came as the provincial government prepares to roll out the vaccination program for non-hospital workers. So far, it has registered a 97% rating in utilizing vaccine supplies from the Department of Health (DOH).

Saclot said 979 of 1,007 frontline health care workers in eight Misamis Oriental hospitals have already received their first vaccine shots.