This Week in Palawan (August 3 to 9, 2020)

The Department of Tourism announced that meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions (MICE) are allowed in areas under modified general community quarantine (MGCQ). However, they may only be conducted at 50 percent capacity. Last July 14, DOT Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat signed Memorandum Circular 2020-006 [1], which contains the following guidelines that MICE organizers and venues must follow:

• Besides the standard health protocols set by the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF), MICE organizers are also required to create preparedness plans to lessen the risk of COVID-19 transmission in any event.

• There should be a designated isolation area or room for attendees who are feeling unwell.

• For conferences and breakout rooms, seats should be set one meter apart.

• A maximum of two persons only are allowed for six-foot tables. Exhibits are required to have a wider aisle that should measure more than three meters. Adjacent booths should not be directly facing each other.

• For food and beverages, buffets and self-service are prohibited; pre-packed individual meals and drinks must be distributed to attendees.

• Persons below 21 over 60 years old are prohibited from attending events.

According to Romulo-Puyat, meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions contribute to the recovery of local tourism by generating employment and boosting the economy.

The Committee on Health called the attention of major airlines regarding their violations of the flight schedules of returning individuals in Palawan. According to the committee chairman, medical facilities are reaching their full capacities and they ask that returning Palawan residents be prioritized if they are scheduled. In addition, the local IATF also requested to be given enough lead time for preparing their facilities before receiving more locally stranded individuals (LSI), since health workers are also exhausted from the previous influx.

The local government of Puerto Princesa City also called out the airlines for not adhering to the required number of passengers per flight as well as other safety measures. The IATF previously stated that Puerto Princesa can only accommodate 120 passengers from Monday to Wednesday and the remaining days will be for other areas in the province [2].

Cebu Pacific addressed the concerns of the LGU by making sure that they have followed the guidelines issued by the local IATF. They will also continue to impose stricter measures to prevent the inclusion of non-residents of Palawan in their flights to the province. The airline also stated that it will ask passengers for their medical certificates and travel authority issued by the Philippine National Police to prove that they are residents of Puerto Princesa or Palawan. Meanwhile, Philippine Airlines and AirAsia stated that they followed the schedule and the allowed number of passengers.

The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (Philhealth Palawan Office) confirmed the closure of 21 local businesses in Palawan along with the temporary closure of 224 establishments. According to Philhealth Palawan’s data from April to June 30, most of the permanently closed businesses belong to the micro and retail industries. Meanwhile, those that are temporarily closed belong to the tourism sector [3].

Establishments that shut down operations are required to get their Certificate of Business Retirement from the city hall while businesses that declared temporary closure must fill out an employer amendment form. Philhealth also encourages employees to continue voluntarily paying for contributions to help them save in case of confinement.

The San Vicente District Hospital was inaugurated by the Department of Health (DOH) and the Provincial Government of Palawan last July 28. The hospital, which has a 50-bed capacity, now offers their services to residents of San Vicente and other nearby areas.

The newly-built hospital is one of the 14 hospitals established in Palawan through DOH’s Health Facilities Enhancement Program (HFEP), which aims to provide more medical facilities in Palawan. Other facilities were also inaugurated in Coron, Cuyo, Roxas, Taytay, El Nido, Araceli-Dumaran, Aborlan, Narra, Brooke’s Point, Rizal, Bataraza, Quezon and Balabac Island. These hospitals provide free services to children and the elderly who belong to poor families [4].

The quarantine facilities at Bataraza received six outdoor hand washing units from the Coral Bay Nickel Corporation (CBNC). The units are placed in three quarantine facilities and can store 1,000 liters of water.

Bataraza’s quarantine facilities, which served as temporary homes to returning stranded individuals, has been unable to provide a comfortable environment for persons in the facility. In order to solve this problem, CBNC donated mattresses, beddings, pillows, and hand washing stations in all of the facilities. One unit of laptop and printer was also given in order to improve contact tracing measures [5]. Bataraza previously recorded eight active COVID-19 cases in June; currently, it has zero cases.

Go to Yoorekka for more COVID-19 updates in Palawan.