ZAMBOANGA CITY, July 7 (PIA) –More Zamboangueño locally-stranded individuals (LSIs) from the National Capital Region (NCR) started to arrive here tonight (July 7) as part of the Hatid Tulong program of the national government. The arrivals will continue until tomorrow early dawn, with a total of 264 LSIs expected to arrive in the city..

All of the LSIs have undergone rapid testing for COVID-19 prior to their departure from the Quirino Grandstand on July 4, said Presidential Management Staff (PMS) Assistant Secretary Joseph Encabo earlier.

According to the City Tourism Officer Sarita Sebastian-Hernandezthe city government has contracted buses to ferry the total 264 Zamboangueño LSIs from Cagayan de Oro City where they arrived from Manila early dawn today via sea vessel.

They were immediately brought to five different hotels in the city where they will be staying until after they undergo swabbing. If they tested negative, the LSIs will be released from the hotels but mandated to undergo home quarantine, to be monitored by the barangay health emergency response teams. If they tested positive, they will immediately be transferred to the city’s COVID-19 isolation facility.

Mayor Beng Climaco earlier said that strict health protocols such as the RT-PCR swab test and mandatory quarantine are strictly required for all the LSIs.

The city continues to experience a rise in COVID-19 cases, majority of which are reported from LSIs and returning overseas Filipinos (ROFs). Nevertheless the city government maintains that it implements strict health protocols to prevent the spread of COVID-19, as Mayor Beng Climaco reminds the public to “be vigilant and practice the protocols at all times”. (DIS/PIA9-ZAMSULTA)