DAVAO CITY — With the increasing number of Locally Stranded Individuals (LSIs) and defying health protocol and ordinary citizens violating the restrictions, Task Force (TF) Davao Commander advised everyone to take all these measures as a civic duty of a citizen towards his country.
TF Davao Commander Yecla explained to Newsline on Thursday that, “Given the absence of the vaccine, it should be 80 percent personal prevention and safety, and 20 percent medicine, with this, everyone must be cautious and we must consider it our civic duty”.
The Task Force Davao commander also noted the daily violations against health protocol.
On Tuesday alone, the Task Force intercepted 186 LSIs in the Sirawan, Lasang, and Lacon quarantine checkpoints trying to sneak into the city without the required rapid test result.
“While we understand their feeling to be home, part of their preparation for their love ones must be their test result to ensure that they are safe and their families too,” he added.
With this condition, health must be everyone’s concern, Yecla stressed, “It is not only the duty of the government to protect its people, but everyone in the family must support and cooperate with one another, make health protocol a civic duty- just like following traffic laws, road rules ad safety, it must become a habit”.
For LSIs and Returning Overseas Filipinos (ROFs), Yecla said many tend to come home the easiest way they can, which result in defying health protocols and health requirement.
Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio in an earlier pronouncement said LSIs entering he city should provide negative results of Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT PCR) taken at least 72 hours before boarding their flights.
The order was later modified and testing is now being done as plane passengers leave the Davao International Airport.
“They should bear in mind that once they defy the protocol, going home will take time, there will be more hassle in defying the convenience of following the health protocol, imagine, they will be intercepted, they will wait for the PCr and Swab test result and it takes time than getting a PCR before traveling,” Yecla said.
“While they long to be with their families, they should also remember that once they are positive -they too are putting lives of their loved ones in danger, that will complicate the situation,” Yecla explained.
Of the recent LSIs which the TF-Davao intercepted, 16 arrived in Cagayan de Oro via the Laguindingan airport, 170 traveled by land from Manila.
Of those numbers, 94 are residents of Davao City while 92 were escorted to the cities’ exit points to other regions.
Those who are not residents of Davao “We escorted them to the boundaries to ensure that they will not make a stop in the city, we treat everyone as a carrier so it will be vital if they make a stop,” he added.
The data from the health authorities of the region shows, 31 percent of the LSIs were tested positive of coronavirus-19 “Nasa statistics yan, malaki din ang porsyento ng mga nahawa , yong mga kasama nila,” Yecla added.
The local community transmission in barangay 23-C, Yecla revealed, has been contained after the implementation of hard lockdown “But people must always think the risk if they do not follow the health protocol”.
Yecla called on everyone “If you love yourself and your family, do your civic duty-follow health protocol to ensure everyone’s safety.”-Editha Z. Caduaya/Newsline.ph
