"What?!" Estella exclaimed in surprised.Like her, everyone in the room had violent reactions.
"Did we hear it right?"
"Oh my G.o.d!"
"Subangdaku is not safe anymore."
"Is it that bad?"
Everyone was hysterical as the mayor paused on the screen. Such had never happened in Subangdaku, not in other districts or even in the province. The mayor"s eyes became shiny as sad tears began forming.
"So what does locking down Subangdaku mean?" he resumed his speech. "In the next several days, no one leaves or enters the district. Barricades will be put up to a.s.sure this measure. No human or vehicles can pa.s.s through the barricades without an official pa.s.s? Who can secure pa.s.ses?"
The mayor enumerated those who can get free pa.s.ses from the district hall. They included vehicles carrying essential cargoes like food, medicine, and hardware supplies. People were not permitted to go in and out of the Subangdaku, except those working in other districts. They simply had to present their company or employee ID at the police manning the barricades. However, they were encouraged to simply stay at home and not to leave for work; instead, they could request their employers to be temporarily a.s.signed in Subangdaku or bring their workload to their respective homes.
"We need to do this to prevent aggravating the outbreak. Everything I said had been put into a new executive order and will take effect by tomorrow and will last for one week only, unless an extension is necessarily if the cause and cure of the disease will not be discovered yet."
Estella gasped, and so did her fellow reporters. One week was quite a long time for a quarantine, but may not be long enough to find the cure.
"We must get our pa.s.ses immediately," Sonny whispered to which Estella nodded.
"I asked for understanding and cooperation from the people of Subangdaku to make these preventive measures successful," the mayor continued his speech. "Aside from the new executive order, we will also be strengthening the medical services of the district."
Estella nodded; yet, she believed that should have been done right from the beginning, or even before the outbreak started. Just becasue Subangdaku was a rural community, this did not mean that it had immunity from any form of calamity - natural, man-made, or even supernatural.
"We will be providing more facial masks, alcohol, disinfectants, and personal protective equipment to the local health center and public clinics and hospitals. There could be shortage of medical facilities and hence, we will be fast tracking the medical arcade proposed by Dr. Silverio Alvarado, head of the scientist team who investigated the meteor crash. The good doctor had been planning to convert an abandoned two-storey building near Subangdaku Elementary School into a one-stop state-of-the-art medical facility. "
Estella was stupefied for a while. Even Sonny could not believe what he just heard. Why did Dr. Alvarado suddenly enter the picture? Is his involvement more than what the eyes can see?
"The facility will have diagnostic laboratories and cater to various medical services pertaining to the pulmonary, cardiovascular, renal, and other systems of the human body. With all that had happened in Subangdaku, Dr. Alvarado had rendered his steadfast support with his outstanding knowledge and experience in the field. He had become a good friend in the process, not only to me but to all the citizens as well. With his project, we can save more people from the outbreak."
The mayor paused as he shuffled and looked at the papers he was holding. He appeared to be sad and worn out. Eerie silence filled the monitor screen as people waited for him to resume his speech.
"What has Mr. Alvarado got to do with this drama?" Estella asked Sonny.
"It really smells fishy," he answered. "He has been involved right from the very beginning."
"Exactly. Dr. Alvarado covered up the discovery of the meteor crash. They hid that from the public, until we discovered what they were up to. They made alibis but they never presented any evidence."
"They remained silent until the people forgot about it."
"Forgot because they were distracted," Estella intervened. "The tragedy of the meteor crash was still fresh, but another one suddenly happened."
"And in both stories, Dr. Alvarado appeared to be a savior or a hero."
"The mayor trusted him. It will not be longer before the entire community of Subangdaku will also trust him, even love or worship him."
"Yet, we still don"t believe him. Despite his actions and words, we still distrust him. Why do you think so?"
"Because he lied from the start," Estella said with conviction. "And he could be lying again or covering something up."
Sonny could not reply. He simply nodded. The mayor gave more details about Dr. Alvarado"s medical facility. It was indeed ambitious and extravaganza, probably requiring tons of money. And with the hastening of the establishment of the facility, Dr. Alvarado would be spending plenty of cash. Just how hefty his a.s.sets were, Estella and Sonny could only guess based on the evidences they had gathered so far.
"Dr. Alvarado"s facility will take a long time to put up," the mayor continued. "In case it is not yet finished and the outbreak had worsened, we would be establishing an isolation camp. Persons with mild symptoms will be placed in the isolation camp while both public and private clinics will only accept severe cases. In the camp, doctors and nurses will also be on standby. Everyone inside the camp will not be allowed to leave, including patients, medical personnel, and camp staff. Each patient will have separate isolation tents and contact with families and loved ones will be prohibited. Only babies and chidren twelve years old and younger will be exempted from this rule. They can bring along one to two guardians. However, their guardians will also be treated the same way and will not be allowed to leave the camp unless completely recovered."
"Oh my, that camp sounds horrible," Sonny said.
"I bet putting up camps is also Dr. Alvarado"s idea," Estella insinuated that made Sonny smiled.
"After meeting with our city councilors, we figured out that the camp must be strategically locate. It should have easy access to roads, near the most congested communities, and has wide area to accommodate several isolation tents....
After careful deliberation, it was decided that the isolation camp will be organized at Subangdaku Elementary School.... "