UNVACCINATED Pangasinenses are urged to stay home in anticipation of possible sudden surge of COVID-19 cases of various variants, particularly the new Omicron variant, in the aftermath of the holiday season.

Provincial Legal Officer lawyer Geraldine Baniqued, in a radio interview, warned  individuals who have not been vaccinated or not fully vaccinate, that they are vulnerable to a possible new surge and, therefore, should stay home.

She said the Provincial Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) had agreed to restrict the  movements of persons who are not vaccinated or not fully vaccinated unless necessary for emergency or humanitarian reasons to prevent transmission of Omicron but did not cite need to shift the current Alert Level 2 to Alert Level 3.

To prevent possible entry of possible Omicron  carriers, unvaccinated individuals from Metro Manila and other areas under Alert Level 3 will not be allowed to enter Pangasinan.

Baniqued said valid identification card (ID) and vaccination card should be presented at the border control checkpoints.

However, LGUs may impose additional specific requirements like restricting entry of travelers from provinces under Alert Level 3, i.e., Bulacan, Cavite, and Rizal.

Moreover, as part of the contingency measures, the provincial government will again reimpose the 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. curfew hours from the 12 a.m. to 4 a.m.

Meanwhile, Baniqued urged parents not to allow their children to go outside their homes  after it was observed that more children are moving around in public places.

To help in the effort of policing children’s movements, force multipliers were already tapped to watch out for children loitering or playing outside their homes, while business establishments are told to strictly implement health protocols in their areas.

She also reminded operators of cockfighting and funfairs about need to strictly observe allowed operational capacity under the existing guidelines of Alert Level 2 system – 50% of venue capacity should be observed for indoor while 70% for outdoor activities, while component local government units are also discouraged from organizing crowd-drawing events such as fiestas, sports tournaments, and among others.

She said violations will result in prosecution of Republic Act 11332 or the Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act.
(Jerick Pasiliao)

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