THE ILOILO City government, in coordination with the provincial government, has canceled the international “Run for Jesus” event set Thursday and authorities are now tracking Koreans who have already arrived for the activity. South Korea has reported a surge in COVID-19 cases a week after the same event was held in Daegon City. “Due to the coronavirus outbreak in South Korea, we decided to cancel the permit we gave to the ‘Run for Jesus’ event scheduled on February 27,” Mayor Jerry P. Treñas said in a press briefing Tuesday. The event was expected to draw around 20,000 participants. He said several Koreans are already in town and more were expected to arrive through the Kalibo International Airport in Aklan before the cancellation of the event. “Given the origin of the expected guests from Korea and given the number of people that will be exposed to the danger, we highly encourage passengers to voluntarily submit themselves to self-quarantine,” the mayor said. The Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council has also advised the provincial government of Aklan to temporarily hold all arriving guests from Korea at the designated Aklan Training Center for monitoring. — Emme Rose Santiagudo

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