Zamboanga to impose curfew for residents with no boosters

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines — The city government of Zamboanga will impose curfew hours for people who have not received their booster shots.

The decision to impose a curfew was prompted by a rise in the number of active COVID cases in the city.

Mayor John Dalipe said the curfew hours would be from midnight to 4 a.m. daily.

Dalipe, chief of the local inter-agency task force on COVID, approved the task force’s resolution to impose a curfew during a virtual meeting last Thursday.

Dalipe is undergoing quarantine after he tested positive for COVID-19 on Aug. 2.

The curfew is expected to encourage people to take booster shoots to prevent the spread of the virus.

The curfew will be implemented as the city is under Alert Level 1 quarantine status. The rest of the provinces in the Zamboanga peninsula as well as Isabela City in Basilan are under Alert Level 2.

The city health office (CHO) reported that active COVID cases increased to 222 after 55 new infections were recorded on Aug. 3.

The CHO recorded 20 recoveries and no fatalities. Most of the cases were moderate and asymptomatic, it said.

A majority of the cases appeared to be community-related infections. Three are authorized persons outside of residence or APOR.

CHO chief Dulce Amor Miravite blamed people’s complacency in observing health protocols for the increase in the cases.