QC Hall of Justice on lockdown after worker suspected with COVID-19 dies
MANILA, Philippines — Quezon City’s Hall of Justice has been placed on lockdown from May 18 until further notice as its Office of Executive Judge verifies a report that a worker at the hall died of suspected COVID-19.
Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 89 Executive Judge Cecilyn Burgos-Villavert said that upon the authority of Court Administrator Midas Marquez, the Hall of Justice (Main and Annex) will be placed on lockdown as the office verifies the report of a worker holding office at the building who died of severe pneumonia.
The worker, who is not a staff of the RTC or the Metropolitan Trial Courts, was at the Hall of Justice “a few days before dying,” the statement read.
If proven true, the office will also conduct contact tracing and disinfect the building.
No person shall be allowed to enter the Hall of Justice during the said period, said Villavert in a statement posted by the Supreme Court Public Information Office on Monday.
All initiatory pleadings, in civil and criminal cases, shall be filed electronically and be received by the Office of the Clerk of Court of the RTC or the Metropolitan Trial Court through official addresses posted on the SC website.
Inquiries for the RTC and MeTC can also be directed to hotline numbers of the courts.
Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta, in a circular last week, said courts in areas enforced with Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine shall remain physically closed but will accept all pleadings and petitions online.
Quezon and the rest of Metro Manila are among the areas deemed high-risk to the spread of the coronavirus and have been placed under MECQ. Other localities under MECQ are the Municipality of Pateros, Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Zambales, Angeles City and Laguna.
Civil weddings may also be conducted but parties, witnesses and guests shall not exceed five people.
A thread of major news, developments and government pronouncements related the extended community quarantine across the country. Real-time updates about the coronavirus outbreak in the Philippines are available in this live blog. (Main image by AFP/Ted Aljibe)
The province of Laguna and the cities of Iloilo and Cagayan de Oro will be placed on lockdown until the middle of August, Malacañang announces.
"President Rodrigo Roa Duterte approved the recommendation of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) to place Laguna, Iloilo City and Cagayan de Oro under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) beginning Aug. 6 until Aug. 15, 2021," presidential spokesman Harry Roque says in a statement.
Iloilo and Cagayan de Oro have been under the strictest quarantine classification since July 16. — The STAR/Alexis Romero
The Department of Health reports an additional 6,686 COVID-19 infections, bringing the national tally to 1,300,349.
- Active cases: 61,345 or 4.7%% of the total
- Recoveries: 3,190, pushing total to 1,216,497
- Deaths: 196, bringing total to 22,507
President Rodrigo Duterte approves the recommendation of Cabinet members to place Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal under modified enhanced community quarantine.
Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque says the new quarantine measures will be imposed starting midnight of August 4 and will stay in place until August 18.
The inter-agency task force on COVID-19 imposes a moratorium on the transit of locally stranded persons in Western Visayas, Cebu island, Mactan, Eastern Visayas and Caraga.
"Wala na po silang lugar para mag-quarantine," IATF spokesperson Harry Roque says in a virtual briefing.
(They have no place to undergo quarantine anymore.)
The Department of Health announces 485 "fresh" COVID-19 cases on Sunday, June 28.
Another 168 are "late" cases, or "released to patients four days ago or more."
Most of the cases are still from the National Capital Region, with 245 "fresh" and 111 "late."
Central Visayas accounts for 120 "fresh" cases and 11 "late" ones.
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