A Tagbilaran City councilor has called on the public to refrain from joining or organizing gatherings such as Christmas parties to prevent the possible spread of COVID-19.

Councilor Ondoy Borja, chairman of the Tagbilaran City Council’s committee on health, said that families should limit themselves to having parties on their own inside their homes as the city continued to record community transmission cases of COVID-19.

“Atong likayan g’yud na kay kahibaw naman ta na naay community transmission na nahitabo na dinhi sa atong lugar,” said Borja.

Borja said that it is better to take extra precautionary measures than to end up contracting the disease.

“Atong bantayan ang atong kaugalingon labina kay pasko, luoy pud kaayo na magpasko ta na tua sa hospital o unsa ba,” he added.

According to the city legislator, City Hall and Sangguniang Panlungsod personnel have been advised not to organize gatherings for the holidays while the local government unit’s annual Christmas party has been cancelled.

Borja also expressed his personal opposition against Christmas caroling.

He said that prohibiting the popular Christmas tradition would help prevent the spread of the disease.

However, the city has yet to craft a policy or ordinance that prohibits caroling within the city.

As of Thursday, the city has 13 recorded community transmission cases, the most for a locality in the entire province.

The city also has 23 other cases which involved locally stranded individuals, returning overseas Filipinos and authorized personnel outside of residence. (A. Doydora)