Curfew in Bacolod City will be suspended on December 24 and 31, Mayor Evelio Leonardia announced today, December 20.
Leonardia, in Executive Order No. 82, Series of 2020, said the suspension was granted “in observance of Filipino customs and traditions of celebrating Christmas and to welcome the New Year.”
Bacolod City is currently under Modified General Community Quarantine.
Leonardia, in his EO, said it is his intention to provide Bacolod residents a chance to exercise time-honored customs and traditions during the 2020 Christmas season.
The mayor said he issued the EO after consultations with Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran, the Sangguniang Panlungsod members, barangay officials, and the City’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Task Force, to determine the feasibility, practicality, and safety of having no curfew on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.
COVID-19 data of the Bacolod EOC shows very significant drops and improvements over the past weeks on the number of reported positive cases, recovery rates, hospital capacity utilization rate, and active cases that convinced them that they could suspend curfew provided all other existing health protocols remain in full force and effect, the mayor said.
The strict home quarantine of vulnerable persons by reason of age, co-morbidities, illness, and those covered in the national policy of the Department of Health and national and local Inter-Agency Task Forces will continue to be enforced, he said.
The minimum health protocols requiring the wearing of face masks, face shields, and social distancing in public places must be strictly observed, Leonardia added.*