The provincial government is set to close more cemeteries and memorial parks in Pangasinan from October 29 to November 2 to prevent crowd gathering come All Souls’ Day and All Saints’ Day as the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in the province increased in the past few days.
In a virtual Kapihan sa Ilocos forum hosted by the Philippine Information Agency, Governor Amado Espino III said he had a meeting with the provincial Inter-Agency Task Force and the Pangasinan Police Provincial Office director to discuss the temporary closure of these cemeteries and memorial parks.
“We are going to remind mayors to encourage their constituents to visit the cemeteries early.”
“Susulat kami sa mga mayors para sa pagsasara ng mga sementeryo at para i-encourage din nila ang kanilang mga kababayan na pumunta na ng maaga sa mga sementeryo (We are going to write to the mayors regarding the temporary closure of cemeteries and to remind them to encourage their constituents to visit the cemeteries early),” Espino explained.
Some localities in Pangasinan have already issued executive orders in connection with the upcoming holidays, such as the municipalities of Binmaley and San Jacinto, and Dagupan City.
The governor said there was a notable increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in the province in the past few days following a decline in the past weeks.
“Hindi pwede mag kampante kasi di pa stable.”
“Hindi pwede mag kampante kasi di pa stable. May tumataas, may bumababa (We cannot yet relax as the number is not yet stable. Sometimes it goes up, and sometimes it goes down). But we are doing our best,” he said.
Espino added the provincial government recently hired some 160 healthcare workers such as doctors, nurses, and utility staff to ensure the delivery of proper healthcare service to the Pangasinenses.
As of October 5, Pangasinan recorded 28,566 recoveries out of the 31,615 total number of COVID-19 cases, with 1,011 deaths and 2,038 active cases.
