Tagbilaran City Mayor Baba Yap on Thursday reminded the public that the city will seal off its borders during its fiesta on May 1 as part of efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19.

According to Yap, non-Tagbilaran City residents will be barred from entering the city except for frontliners, government officials and those who have work in the city.

“Main purpose g’yud ani, dili ta magpasulod sa mga taw na walay tuyo sa atoang syudad kay kasagaran ani mao man g’yud ni sila ang mamista,” said Yap.

Yap has issued an executive order stipulating restrictions which will be implemented on May 1 and days before and after the fiesta.

The mayor also noted that city authorities will be tightly monitoring houses from April 30 to May 2 to ensure that there are no large gatherings inside residences.

Individuals are also prohibited from inviting non-household members into their homes.

“Para ni dili sila magtapok og dinaghan. Dili pud puydi sila mangimbitar og mga bisita na dili membro sa ilang mga balay,” Yap said.

“Wala nato sila did-i sa pahinungod just as long na mga membro lang sa balay ang puydi mo attend,” he added.

During fiestas, households in Bohol are known to accept visitors including strangers to partake in their prepared lunch or dinner feasts.

Yap however reminded the public to still refrain from organizing parties or gatherings even beyond the fiesta as the number of COVID-19 cases in Tagbilaran City continued to soar.

He said that many of the COVID-stricken residents of the city were noted to have contracted the disease during gatherings.

“Kasagaran, based sa atong contact-tracing, kanang panagtapok didto g’yud nila nakuha ang virus mao gi discourage nato ang mga gatherings dili ra sa Mayo 1 kundili sa tibuok pandemya,” he added.

Based on data from the Bohol Inter-Agency Task Force, there were 257 active COVID-19 cases in Tagbilaran City as of Friday morning.

The city accounted for almost a third of the total cases in Bohol at 825. (A. Doydora)