Cordova town officials undergo home quarantine following recent Manila trips

Cordova Vice Mayor Ximgil Sitoy (right) and Mayor Teche Sitoy-Cho (5th from right) agreed to undergo home quarantine following recent travels to Manila. This photo was taken during a March 7 meeting of the Philippine National Red Cross. | Norman Mendoza

CORDOVA, Cebu – Wanting to make sure they do not cause the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in their town, Cordova Mayor Mary Therese “Teche” Sitoy-Cho and Vice-Mayor Ximgil Sitoy have decided to undergo home quarantine for a period of 14 days, starting today, March 14, 2020.

This means that they will have to refrain from leaving their homes until after the quarantine period is over.  The two officials will have to run the affairs of their town from their respective homes, said a statement released by the municipal government this morning, March 14, 2020.

“They will continue to work from home and monitor the situation in the Municipal Hall,” the statement reads.

Eight municipal councilors who traveled with Vice Mayor Sitoy to Manila have also agreed to undergo home quarantine, the statement added.

Cho traveled to Manila on March 9 for the General Assembly of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines while her cousin, Vice-Mayor Sitoy, and members of their Municipal Council were in Manila from February 26-28 for the Philippine Councilors League National Convention.

They respectively stayed there for a period of three days.

While they have been in Cebu for a couple of days already, town officials still took the advice of their Municipal Health Officer on the need to isolate themselves to especially assure constituents that they are not carriers of the dreaded COVID-19.

“This (the self-quarantine) is (for them) to have peace of mind & assure themselves and the constituents that they are safe from the virus & will not be its carriers,” the town’s statement added. / dcb