PMA closes homecoming to media, public for first time over Covid-19
Credit to Author: The Manila Times| Date: Wed, 19 Feb 2020 08:00:28 +0000
THE Philippine Military Academy (PMA), for the first time in recent years, has closed the annual alumni homecoming to media and the public amid the threat of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).
Capt. Cheryl Tindog, PMA spokesman, on Wednesday, said that the ban was one of the measures undertaken by the academy to prevent the spread of COVID-19, which has killed more than 1,000 people worldwide.
“That is why as much as possible, we are limiting the crowd size from going inside Fort del Pilar,” Tindog told reporters.
Only the immediate family of PMA alumni members will be allowed to enter the academy’s grounds during the conduct of the traditional parade of each class of the school, she added.
The homecoming was reset to February 22 from February 15.
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana confirmed previously that the wife of a military officer was placed under quarantine upon her arrival in the Philippines after visiting Hubei, China, the epicenter of the COVID-19.
The wife and her immediate family tested negative, according to Lorenzana.
Mlitary and police officers, as well as public officials who graduated from PMA, attend the annual homecoming as part of the academy’s tradition of having each class hold their own activities. DEMPSEY REYES