Baguio City and Benguet have both tightened borders against non-essential travel in light of the COVID-19 Delta variant’s presence in the country, despite both areas being classified under general community quarantine (GCQ) and modified general community quarantine (MGCQ), respectively.
Baguio has for at least a week starting on July 31 closed off the city’s borders to non-authorized persons outside residence (APOR) travelers, leaving the gates open only to APORs with “indispensable purposes.”
“We are just being proactive. We recognize that people tend to move to areas with lower classification in anticipation of stricter lockdown protocols,” he said.
“We want to preempt the influx of people into the city. By doing so, we can delay the spread of Delta in our city. We cannot prevent it, we can just delay it,” citing the tendency of travelers to move to areas with lower quarantine classification.
Meanwhile, Benguet Governor Melchor Diclas has issued a public advisory tightening restrictions in Benguet’s various borders, effective starting on Wednesday, August 4.
In order to enter Benguet or cross its various borders, travelers are required to present negative reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests or full vaccination certificates.
The advisory also orders all 13 municipalities of Benguet to craft their own respective travel advisories and protocols in compliance with the order to tighten restrictions in the province.
