Zamboanga City on 'expanded, enhanced community quarantine' from Friday

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines — Zamboanga City will implement an expanded and enhanced community quarantine starting dawn on Friday. 

"All the doctors and medical experts said the only manner to restrict this disease if all will stay at home and quarantine ourselves with our families and in the city follow this decision," Mayor Maria Isabelle Climaco-Salazar said.

Salazar said strict home quarantine shall be observed in all households for a month and movement shall be limited to accessing basic necessities.

"What is quarantine? At this point we assume everyone is positive. Sweden advises healthy individuals even those with symptoms of COVID to stay at home and recover. Data says you will recover. Why burden the health system further COVID or not? Because at this point the number of cases don’t matter, the number of critical cases matter so stay at home and we quarantine together," Salazar also said.

She sad the city only has 20 intensive care units, which also have to care for cases other than COVID.

"The biggest sacrifice will be made...for us to really stay at home," Salazar said.

"The third and fourth week is very crucial and we are asking now the Zamboangueños let's give it a one-month sacrifice. Stay at home because this is already the resounding appeal of our doctors."

The city earlier this week closed its borders to land, air, and sea travel.

Measures in Zamboanga City 

• Heightened presence of uniformed personnel
• Only two people per household will be allowed out to get provisions under the monitoring of the barangay officials
• Immediate burial of the deceased, no wakes
• Citywide curfew from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. 
• Establishments providing basic necessities and those in essential inudustries will remain open

The mayor said food packs from the City Social Welfare and Development Office will be distributed to the city's poor through their barangays.

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Zamboanga has suspended all massesin the city from Thursday, March 19, until further notice.

Some of the department stores, shops and hotels in the downtown area have already closed ahead of the implementation of the enhanced community quarantine.