The Leyte provincial inter-agency task force has asked its regional and national counterpart to temporarily suspend the return of locally stranded individuals (LSIs) to the province for one month.

Leyte Vice Governor Carlo Loreto, in an interview Tuesday, said the temporary suspension is based on the request of mayors to ban the acceptance of returning residents from Dec. 1 to 31.

“This will give our quarantine and isolation facilities a break for sanitation and cleaning after several months of being occupied,” Loreto said. “This will also allow personnel who had been manning the facilities for several months their much-needed rest, so that when they return to work they will have more passion to serve as front-liners.”

Once approved, only authorized persons outside residence can return to the province for the entire month of December.

“On January 1, its back again to normal. LSI may travel back to our province and hopefully with more inspired and more energized frontline workers attending to their needs,” he added.

The provincial task force has yet to receive a response from the regional and national bodies.

This is the second time that Leyte province has requested the IATF for a moratorium of LSIs’ travel to the province.

The first request was in July as recommended by all six governors in Eastern Visayas after the region experienced a surge in coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases. (PNA)