MANILA, Philippines — Work at the Senate will be suspended starting Tuesday after President Rodrigo Duterte placed the whole of Luzon under “enhanced community quarantine” due to the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) threat. Senate President Vicente Sotto III said on Monday that the Senate will follow the President’s pronouncement and employees of the Senate will no longer come to work “in the meantime.”ADVERTISEMENT“We follow. Senate employees will no longer go to work in the meantime. READ: COVID-19 patient dies in Makati, bringing virus deaths in PH to 12 – DOHThe President placed the entire island of Luzon under “enhanced community quarantine” “effective immediately” as confirmed cases continue to rise in the country. Under an enhanced community quarantine, “strict home quarantine shall be implemented in all households; transportation shall be suspended; provision for food and essential services shall be regulated; and heightened presence of uniformed personnel to enforce quarantine procedures will be implemented.”READ: Luzon now under ‘enhanced community quarantine’ – PalaceThe World Health Organization declared the disease as a global pandemic after it killed nearly 5,000 people and infected 110,000 others worldwide.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer March 16, 2020 10:52 UTC