CEBU CITY, Philippines – Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia said she is not keen on placing the province under community quarantine as of this point.
Garcia made this pronouncement in a press interview with reporters on Friday, March 13, 2020, after the Capitol convened an emergency meeting.
Garcia said that presently, Cebu is not qualified for a community quarantine since it remains free of any confirmed cases of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).
“Based on the guidelines of the IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Disease), we don’t qualify for a community quarantine,” said Garcia.
She said the government inter-agency task force stipulated that local governments are allowed to declare community quarantine if there are no less than two COVID-19 patients in a barangay, municipality, city or province.
However, Garcia said she will make such a declaration if ‘the situation warrants’.
“If the situation warrants, I will not hesitate to place Cebu under community quarantine,” she added.
Stricter measures in place
The governor called a meeting today, Friday, March 13, 2020, to discuss possible mitigating measures that would be adopted to cushion the impact of the community quarantine to be imposed in Metro Manila starting Sunday, March 15.
During the meeting, all parties agreed to place more precautionary measures on passengers arriving at the domestic terminal of the Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA).
Starting March 13, 2020, travelers not only from Metro Manila but also from Clark, Legazpi, and Dumaguete will be subjected to thermal scanning.
Garcia also said they will be required to submit their health declaration forms before disembarking the planes.
MCIA accommodates a daily average of 10 flights to and from Manila alone. These figures translate to around 5,000 to 6,000 passengers arriving at the airport’s Terminal 1 which serves the domestic flights.
Garcia added that thermal screening procedures will also be conducted at seaports all over the province.
Finish final exams by Monday