Peachland residents Kevin and Gracelyn Bennett are adjusting to life in lockdown in the central Philippines.

The Bennetts spend their winters in Dumaguete, Philippines, then come back to the Okanagan in time for summer.

But right now, life is a little different for the couple as they live in lockdown among other residents of Dumaguete. The city was placed under a sa国际传媒榮tate of calamitysa国际传媒� on March 17, which meant a complete lockdown in the area, after a city councillor and his sister died due to COVID-19. Manila, the countrysa国际传媒檚 capital, was placed under lockdown on March 14.

Kevin, who operates Peachland zipline company ZipZone, said theysa国际传媒檙e not allowed of the compound they live in, except with a pass that allows them to make essential trips, such as going to the markets for food. His wife is listed as an essential service worker, so she isnsa国际传媒檛 as restricted as he is.

He said the city has three supermarkets that serve up to 400,000 people on a normal day. But with the lockdown and restrictions on big crowds, the city limited access to the markets to 50 people at a time.

sa国际传媒淪o they are limited to serving just 1,200 people a day. The lineups are three hours long just to get into the store. At a time when people need access to food, they are being prevented from getting it,sa国际传媒� he said.

sa国际传媒淓verything the government is doing to increase social distancing is having the opposite effect, as itsa国际传媒檚 funnelling people into tight masses and packing them together for hours at a time.sa国际传媒�

sa国际传媒淚f we didnsa国际传媒檛 have a (coronavirus) transmission problem before, we sure have it now.sa国际传媒�

Kevin said he and his wife are currently involved with helping low-income families get access to food and other essential supplies by delivering the items to them or to centres where families can pick them up.

sa国际传媒淢y wife is well-connected in our community, so she is using those connections to make sure these gifts get to where they are supposed tosa国际传媒� for my part, I get to lift heavy things for her while she deals with armed guards and the military.sa国际传媒�

He added she established a manufacturing facility and hired out-of-work seamstresses to help sew PPE for local medical teams, making the best out of the items they have and sterilizing them the best they can.

Kevin said hesa国际传媒檚 not sure when they will be coming back to Canada.

sa国际传媒淢y flight is booked for May 3, but itsa国际传媒檚 looking increasingly unlikely that flight will happen and Isa国际传媒檓 expecting it to be pushed back. Isa国际传媒檓 frustrated because I want to get back to ZipZone and spend time with my one-year-old grandson.sa国际传媒�

ZipZonesa国际传媒檚 opening day has been pushed to April 18. Bennett said theysa国际传媒檒l have a skeleton staff, which will mean limited spaces for guests.

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