CABANATUAN CITY – Heeding the call of various sectors, the Nueva Ecija inter-agency task force has moved the implementation of strict border controls from Aug. 1 to Aug. 6, until to Aug. 20.
Gov. Aurelio Umali, NE-IATF chair, said Resolution No. 2 that deferred border control and provided for alternative requirements for travelers was passed on Aug. 1.
“Whereas, acknowledging the concerns raised by some sectors and to accord the Novo Ecijano community ample time to prepare for the adversities in the implementation of travel restrictions, particularly those with scheduled activities to be affected by the said Resolution No. 1 s. 2021, the NEIATF considered it best to defer the implementation of the said resolution and to adopt hereunder revisions thereto,” the new measure reads.
Resolution No.2 provides that travelers entering or passing through Nueva Ecija shall present any of four documents: a) negative antigen, saliva or RT PCR result, b) valid NEIATF -issued border pass; c) valid IATF-issued APOR ID /pass; and d) Covid-19 vaccination card.
“The NE-IATF may exempt any individual from compliance with the entry requirements for humanitarian considerations such as in cases of travels for emergency or medical or similar purposes,” it added.
At least 11 checkpoints, manned by almost 400 police personnel, will be established to implement border control from Aug. 6-20 in Nueva Ecija as a measure to contain the spread of coronavirus disease, police said.
This, even as police have started putting up checkpoints in Nueva Ecija borders during a dry-run on Sunday as the province’s inter-agency task force deferred to Aug. 6 the start of strict border control per Resolution No. 2.
Nueva Ecija police director Col. Jaime Santos said the border control points are located at Gapan City-San Miguel Bulacan, Cabiao-Arayat, Zaragoza-Lapaz, Aliaga-Tarlac/CLLEX, Licab-Victoria, Guimba-Pura, Cuyapo-Rosales, Carranglan-Sta. Fe, Pantabangan-Castaneda, Bongabon-San Luis and Gabaldon-Dingalan.
As this developed, Umali reported that two Delta variant cases have been recorded in the province. Both males, one of the patients came from Bataan province and the other is an overseas Filipino worker, he said.
The patients, he said, are being attended to under established protocols.
