Governor Art Yap on Thursday urged barangay captains and other village officials to conduct regular “house-to-house count” of their residents to ensure that none have newly arrived by slipping into the province illegally.

“Sila (village officials) nakahibaw, naa naman silay mga records so mahibaw-an nila kung naay mga new arrivals, unya kung naay new arrivals ni agi ban a sila sa atong proseso,” Yap said in an interview over station dyRD.

According to Yap, households found out to have accommodated newly arrived persons without coordination from the government will be locked down while their residents will be placed under quarantine.

All locally stranded individuals from other localities need to secure a medical certificate from a government physician and a travel authority from the Philippine National Police.

They are also required to acquire a letter of acceptance from the local government unit (LGU) of their destinations before boarding a Bohol-bound vessel or aircraft.

Upon arrival in the province, LSIs will then undergo a mandatory 14-day quarantine at an LGU facility.

Yap said that skipping quarantine would possibly lead to local transmission of COVID-19 or the infection of locals including the elderly and those with comorbidities who have been identified to be prone to suffering from severe symptoms of the highly contagious disease.

“Naay pila ka tawo na naa silay comorbidity or naa nay mga daan na sakit, mga huyang or luya, na posibleng matakdan,” he said.

There are currently 19 active COVID-19 cases in the province and all of them are LSIs.

Health authorities however have assured that all of the infected LSIs underwent facility quarantine immediately after arriving in the province, limiting them from any interaction with locals. (A. Doydora)