Zamora orders extended closure of Agora Market; 2 San Juan streets under ECQ

With the country reporting recordbreaking numbers of new confirmed COVID-19 infections – 2,434 on July 5; 2,099 on July 6; and 1,540 on July 7 – San Juan City Mayor Francis Zamora ramped up implementation of safety measures in the city.

He also ordered the Agora Market to remain closed until July 15 after 23 of the 614 test results released so far came in positive for COVID-19. This is in compliance with the guidelines set by the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases and the National Task Force (NTF) Against COVID-19 that public markets with more than three confirmed cases shall be placed on a 15-day lockdown.

A total of 647 swab tests were conducted on market vendors and workers at the Palacio de Maynila on July 1 and 2 after a fish stall helper tested positive for COVID-19.

“I ordered the temporary closure of the market pending the results of the swab tests conducted on our market vendors and workers. Unfortunately, a number of them turned out positive so we are extending the closure as per the guidelines of IATF and NTF. The health and well-being of San Juañenos must take precedence,” Mayor Zamora said.

All those who tested positive are asymptomatic and are now in isolation and being provided with medical attention. Their close contacts have also been tested and are in quarantine.

Zamora ordered the temporary closure of the Agora Market last July 1 following the positive test of the fish stall helper.

Immediately after, the City Health Office conducted contact tracing with the close contacts and had them swabbed and tested. The mayor also tasked the market administration to thoroughly disinfect the public market while out of operation.

As part of the city’s precautionary measures and continuity plan, all 647 market vendors and workers were swabbed for RT-PCR tests. Only those who tested negative and are not close contacts of the patients will be allowed to return to work on July 16 after securing a special health clearance from the City Health Office.

The market’s 3.74% positivity rate is much lower than NCR’s 6.8%, however, Mayor Zamora does not want to be complacent and opted to observe stricter rules.

“To make sure our constituents are safe when they come to the market, the city government will implement stringent measures through our Business Permits and Licensing Office and our City Health Office with the help of the market administration and the vendors and workers themselves,” the mayor.

In a consultative meeting with Mayor Zamora yesterday, city officials and market administration, representatives of the vendors and workers organizations in Agora Market agreed to follow stricter protocols and appoint Health and Safety Protocol Officers to help the San Juan Police and City Health personnel in implementing precautionary measures to avoid further spread of the virus.

The vendors will be allowed back in the Agora Market, which is continuously being sanitized, on July 16.

San Juan City’s Agora Market is due for a 250-day renovation starting later this month. Renovation will be done in six phases with those affected in each phase allowed to set up shop at the temporary market stalls in the plaza. The construction for the temporary market stalls will begin on July 17.

The City Health Office has identified the market as the epicenter of the recent rise in COVID-19 cases in San Juan City.

Meanwhile, under NTF MC No. 2, portions of C. Santos Street in Barangay Balong Bato, which has seven residents positive of the coronavirus, and J. Eustaquio Street in Barangay Progresso, which has five were declared Critical Zones from July 7 to July 22 and placed under Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) rules. As per memorandum circular, “A street shall be categorized as CrZ (Critical Zone) if at least two (2) cluster of cases, composed of either suspect, probable and/or confirmed COVID-19, are present in different houses, buildings or establishments along a specified street.”

“We want to make sure we contain the virus and prevent it from spreading to other areas. The residents along these streets will be taken care of by the San Juan City Government,” Mayor Zamora assured.

The affected 153 families in C. Santos Street and 165 families in J. Eustaquio Street will be given food packs four times during their 15-day quarantine. Police and barangay personnel will be manning key posts to make sure the residents abide by the ECQ protocols.

As part of their compliance with health and safety protocols, San Juan Medical Center has closed its OB and Pediatric Wards due to two staff who tested positive for COVID-19.

San Juan Medical Center Medical Director Dr. Joseph Acosta ordered the temporary closure of the wards after a doctor and a nurse, despite being in full PPE, turned out positive postexposure to a COVID-19-positive patient who had to undergo emergency C-section and hysterectomy in the hospital.

“Both mother and baby are safe while the two medical personnel are asymptomatic. All close contacts of the patients and the medical personnel were already swabbed and quarantined,” Dr. Acosta revealed.

The wards will hopefully open on Saturday, July 11, after thorough disinfection and once all swab results are released.

San Juan City is taking all necessary precautions against the spread of the virus. A recent spike in COVID-19 cases in Metro Manila prompted Mayor Zamora to drastically change the city employees’ work schedule to avoid crowding in the offices, observe proper physical distancing, allow enough quarantine time and prevent the virus from spreading within the city hall without compromising the services to its clients and constituents.

City Hall employees will be working on skeleton force in alternating two-week schedules. The skeletal force per office will be working for two straight weeks and thereafter will undergo two weeks of work from home while in quarantine as another team physically reports to work for the remaining two weeks of the month.

All city employees will be required to undergo free RT-PCR tests to make sure they are COVID19-free and will not transmit the virus to their colleagues, clients and to the constituents.

“The San Juan City government remains committed to the highest standards of public service. As part of our precautionary measures and despite the changes in our work schedule, we will continue to provide the much-needed work in combatting the virus. We will continue to serve the public to the best of our abilities and in spite of the pandemic,” Mayor Zamora said.