The city government here announced on Wednesday night the lifting of curfew hours more than two years after the onset of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) in the country.

Mayor Evelio Leonardia issued Executive Order (EO) 25 dated May 24, repealing the previous directive setting the curfew from midnight to 4 a.m.

“In line with its recovery plans, the city finds it imperative that the movements of people during the new normal should be eased and be made less constricted,” he said.

As the number of Covid-19 cases has gone down and remained low since February this year, the city desires to accelerate moves toward economic recovery and is taking steps to further revitalize business activities and promote economic spending, he added.

In March 2020, Leonardia first imposed the 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. curfew as the city was placed under general community quarantine.

As restrictions eased, the curfew later became 11 p.m. to 4 a.m., then midnight to 4 a.m., until it was finally lifted on Wednesday.

Since March this year, the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) has placed the city under Alert Level 1, the lowest category in the country’s Covid-19 alert level system.

This is due to the city’s very high vaccination rate and continued decline of Covid-19 infections, indicators that the local government unit had managed the pandemic well.

“All these accomplishments were primarily because of the cooperation of all stakeholders,” Leonardia said. (PNA)