Travelers come to the island of Palawan to relax, explore and discover the beautiful beaches and other tourist destinations.

One of the visited areas is the El Nido, Puerto Princesa, Coron and other neighboring municipalities. Not long ago, Palawan had reopened the beaches and other spots for tourism following health protocols. But the latest news has given residents are worrying about their safety and livelihood.

The tourism industry has been slowly risen up since reopening of Palawan. Domestic tourist and celebrities visited the islands. Health and safety protocols are strictly implemented by the Local Government Unit (LGU) but many were alarmed and shocked about a man from Manila in which became positive to the virus.

The tourist was claimed to have falsified his travel and health safety documents from Manila. He arrived in Coron on March 9, Tuesday has tested positive.

The Coron Information Office (CIO) received a direct call from Quezon City Surveillance Team (QCST) on March 10, Wednesday that the tourist is positive to coronavirus and had falsified his documents to travel. After the call, they traced the tourist and brought him into the isolation facility of LGU. They also identified the contact persons.

March 13, the Emergency Operation Center (EOC) released a press statement, they said that hey had traced down the first contact persons, and had undergone into the Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT PCR) test in Culion Sanitarium and General Hospital Molecular Laboratory, while the second contact were given antigen tests in Coron Municipal Health Office. They are thankful for the cooperation given by other offices, establishments and individuals who helped them to control the possible widespread of the disease. Palaweños we're alarmed and got furious about the news.

The struggles after the coronavirus arrived in the Philippines has affected the local community and the government. The people were forced to stay at home to decrease the cases while other uniformed personnels and health workers continued to coordinate with the government. Health and safety protocols were built and strictly implemented. There are also curfews and ages below 18 and older than 60 are not allowed to go outside.

The projects for the development has been stopped and the budget of the country has been passed on to the different sectors in the government to distribute the relief goods and financial assistance. The economy of the country has slowly been going down. It was a year of agony especially for the citizens who rely on everyday income to buy necessities and those who have no extra money to put on savings. This month will be marked as the 1 year of the existence of the virus but it has not vanished.

It is important to be careful amid this pandemic. If cases will increase, community quarantine might be applied back. To avoid the widespread of the virus and to make end of this pandemic is in our hands. Follow health and safety protocols by the government.