"The vessel is on lockdown and already underwent misting and decontamination," said Navy public affairs office chief, Lt. Commander Maria Christina Roxas, in a message to the Philippine News Agency, adding that the lockdown was implemented on September 24.
In a letter addressed to the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), PLDT-Smart said areas currently inaccessible due to the pandemic include Metro Manila and the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Quezon, Rizal, Ilocos Norte, Cagayan, Tarlac, Nueva Ecija, Bulacan, Palawan, Iloilo, Capiz, Samar, Misamis Oriental, and Zamboanga del Norte.
Park superintendent Elizabeth Maclang said Tuesday in a phone interview that the park has welcomed only 61,458 visitors, roughly translating to a generated income of P20.68 million, during the pre-pandemic period from January to March 15. This was only about 18 percent of the tourist arrivals compared to the over-all 2019 figures of 331,556 guest arrivals that yielded to at least P107.63 million.
Coron has logged 32 active cases so far while Busuanga has imposed a 48-hour lockdown of its main population center Barangay Salvacion to facilitate contact tracing related to the death of a local resident last week.
The province’s second COVID-related death was also recorded this week, when an 82-year-old female patient from Coron expired on August 18, a day after she tested positive for the virus.
