The Emergency Operations Center (COE) has announced that some 32,182 volunteers will be working in the Safe Easter Operation this year. The COE is coordinating a major governmental joint action to help prevent traffic accidents, alcoholic drinking excesses, food poisoning and drowning. The operation starts on Thursday, 28 March and will end on Sunday, 31 March at 8pm.
COE director General Juan Manuel Mendez announced the plan at the Presidential Palace yesterday, Thursday 21 March. General Juan Geronimo Brown, of the Metropolitan Transport Authority (AMET), said during the press conference that 2,000 Metropolitan Transport Authority (AMET) agents would be on call for the peak vacation weekend, patrolling key vacation areas.
168 of the country’s recreational areas will be closed to visitors during the Easter holidays. Freight transportation is banned from 2pm on Thursday 28 March, except for vehicles transporting pharmaceuticals, food and fuel.
Some 2,512 help stations are being located in beaches, springs, highways and key avenues. A total of 123 ambulances, three helicopters, 20 tow trucks and eight repair workshops will be posted at strategic spots along the highways. Three mobile hospitals, 12 doctors’ offices and nine regional command centers are also being set up. For the return on Sunday afternoon, AMET vehicles will set the pace for vehicles on highways to ensure safe driving.
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