Ilocos Sur lifts border closure to Cordillera region
By Redjie Melvic M. Cawis
BAGUIO CITY, March 5(PIA) — The provincial government of Ilocos Sur has lifted the temporary closure of the borders of Ilocos Sur and the Cordillera Administrative Region particularly at Cervantes, Ilocos Sur.
Ilocos Sur Governor Ryan Singson issued Executive Order No. 19 series of 2021 lifting the temporary closure of borders of Cervantes effective March 2. It noted that the Department of Health-Cordillera reported on February 22 that Mountain Province is already placed under low epidemic risk level.
On January 30, 2021, Singson issued a temporary closure of the borders of Cervantes, Ilocos Sur and Mountain Province in the Cordillera region as a precautionary measure following the detection of the presence of the UK variant of the COVID-19 in Bontoc on January 22.
During the border closure, vehicles and persons from Mountain Province were denied entry to Ilocos Sur via Barangay Aluling and Commilas in Cervantes town.
Mountain Province Gov. Bonifacio Lacwasan, Jr. wrote Singson on March 1 requesting for the reopening of said border.
“.. our constituents have experienced significant inflation in prices of primary commodities due to difficulty in accessing essential goods, aggregates, construction and hardware materials which we usually access in the Ilocos Region via Cervantes and passing through Tagudin-Cervantes-Sabangan Road. This has further aggravated the continued sufferings and inconveniences of an already suffering constituency, the people of Mountain Province in particular, which is caused by this COVID-19 pandemic,” Lacwasan said.
The Governor noted that all the COVID-19 UK Variant cases in the province have been contact traced, isolated, and most of them have already recovered except for the remaining one case who is presently undergoing management.
Moreover, the Prevent, Detect, Isolate, Treat and Reintegrate strategy of the DOH has gained significant milestone in the province with the molecular laboratory at the Luis Hora Regional Memorial Hospital to conduct RT PCR testing. (JDP/RMC- PIA CAR)
