TACLOBAN CITY-Personnel of the Tacloban City Fire Office started the disinfection drive across the city on Saturday(March 21) to ensure the area would remain free from virus that causes the coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19).
The fire office, assisted by Filipino-Chinese fire volunteer brigades, started the disinfection at the city’s downtown area which will cover the entire 138 barangays of Tacloban, said city fire marshal officer Senior Inspector Vic Leonard Macasil.
According to him, the disinfection will be done daily from every 3 pm to 6 pm for the next three weeks, coinciding with the period of the intensified restriction imposed by the city government.
“This is our way of making sure that Tacloban City would be free from possible spread of the COVID-19.We will disinfect all the villages of the city,” he said.
Aside from the fire trucks where fire personnel and the volunteers would disinfect the main streets of the city, there are also men on foot who will be in charge in disinfecting the alleys of the barangays.
The disinfectant is made of chlorine mixed with water.
The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry-Tacloban, Leyte chapter, headed by Eugene Tan, donated the several gallons of chlorine being used as disinfectants.
Tacloban has no COVID-19 cases though it has 21 persons under investigation and over 1,804 persons under monitoring as of March 21.
City Mayor Alfred Romualdez has virtually placed Tacloban on a lockdown with the people coming from outside the city prohibited to enter unless for emergency purposes, working in the city and those carrying foods and essential products, among others.
Residents of the city who venture out on the streets are required to use face masks and have a quarantine pass issued by their respective barangays.
Children and old people, especially those who have existing medical conditions, are strictly prohibited to go out of their homes.
City hall personnel and police men roams around the city to ensure that the home stay policy is followed strictly as a citywide curfew which starts at 8 pm to 5 am was imposed.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA/JOEY A. GABIETA)