Mayor bans sea vessels from China

By Dolly Yasa

BACOLOD City – Mayor Evelio Leonardia issued late Wednesday night  an executive order banning all vessels from China, Hong Kong, and Macau into Bacolod seaports to prevent the spread of the 2019 coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Leonardia’ order came in the wake of two foreign vessels from China and Vietnam that arrived here Monday evening

In a presscon Thursday afternoon at the Office of the Mayor, Dr. Grace Tan, head of the Inter- Agency  Task Force on Corona Virus, told reporters here that the vessel from Vietnam was allowed to dock at the Bredco port but the one from China was anchored about eight kilometers from the port.

In his executive order, Leonardia said the city government is taking major preventive measures to protect the citizens.

He also said the city government has been “conscious about the serious threats of COVID-19 and the potential danger it may bring to the health, well-being, and life of its citizens, taking into account the declaration of the WHO (World Health Organization) and the travel ban issued by the President of the Philippines.”

Earlier, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) in Negros Occidental confirmed that two foreign vessels were placed on quarantine off the coast of Bacolod City, amid the COVID-19 outbreak.