SAN PEDRO CITY–The province of Rizal, with over a hundred people including its governor infected with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), is shutting down its borders on April 6 in a bid to contain the virus outbreak.

Acting Governor Reynaldo San Juan, on Saturday, issued an executive order placing the province, right on the fringes of Metro Manila, under an indefinite lockdown.

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Vice Gov. San Juan temporarily replaced Gov. Rebecca Ynares, after the governor and her husband were infected with the disease.

This means that non-Rizal residents will be barred from entering the province unless they are hospital workers or part of the skeleton workforce of the remaining essential business in operation.

Meanwhile, the provincial government said cargo and food delivery trucks shall be allowed an unhampered movement through designated food lanes.

Express lane

Express lanes will be opened for donations meant for medical workers.

Rizal is also currently observing a 24-hour curfew to force its residents to stay home.

Rizal’s lockdown came as Luzon was half-way through the one-month enhanced community quarantine declared by President Rodrigo Duterte.

As of Saturday, Rizal remains the top province in terms of cases and mortality, with 131 and 15 deaths, based on the Department of Health’s April 3 bulletin.

Antipolo, the only city in the province, alone has recorded 47 cases of infection, of which seven had died.

The other town with a high number of infections are those located close to Metro Manila’s eastern portion, like Cainta with 34 cases and five deaths, Taytay with 16 cases and two deaths, San Mateo with 11 cases and one death, and Binangonan with seven cases.

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Edited by JPV

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