The Capitol has directed the province’s city and municipal councilors particularly those who attended a recent convention of the Philippine Councilors’ League in Manila, to undergo self-quarantine starting today in a bid to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) into the province which still has zero recorded cases as of Monday morning.

The directive which was aired by Dr. Yul Lopez of the Provincial Health Office (PHO) on Monday was issued after a councilor from Negros Oriental who attended the event tested positive for COVID-19 and died due to the disease.

“Ang tanang konsehal pahimuon nato sila og strict mandatory home quarantine sugod karong adlawa dayon, kagahapon namatay ang maong PCL member so ang tanang nanambong didto primarily didto sa Manila,” said Lopez.

There are 482 councilors in Tagbilaran City and Bohol’s 47 towns but it has yet to be determined how many of them attended the convention.

The directive also covers the province’s mayors who recently traveled to Metro Manila where a rapid spread of the disease has been reported.

“Amo na ning gi-disseminate sa mga kalungsuran na mag home quarantine,” Lopez said.

The health official also advised Bohol’s three congresspersons to undergo home quarantine after a staff member of the House of Representatives in Quezon City tested positive for COVID-19.

On Sunday, a councilor of Tayasan town in Negros Oriental who was infected with COVID-19 died.

He was 64 years old and was labeled as “Patient 39.”

Reports indicated that he travelled to Manila on February 26 to attend the PCL convention and travelled back to Negros on March 1.

Cebu City Councilor Raymond Alvin Garcia, PCL Visayas chairman, told Cebu-based news site CDN Digital that he believes that the late councilor contracted the disease after the convention.

“What we believe is that when he contracted it, it was already after the PCL National Convention because after the day of the election, which was the 27th, ni-request man to siya nga magpabilin siya… He visited family and friends didto pa gyud sa Greenhills,” Garcia was quoted as saying by CDN Digital on Thursday, March 12.