Family of the late Yuri Richards thanks Lapu gov’t, neighbors for support

LAPU-LAPU CITY, Cebu—The family of Roy Deldig, known as Yuri Richards in the Cebu media industry, expressed their gratitude to the City Government of Lapu-Lapu and to their neighbors who supported them after they were locked down for two days.

Deldig, 42, died of a heart attack on March 31, 2020. 

Prior to his death, he manifested symptoms of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) such as fever, colds, cough and experienced breathing difficulty, which prompted the city government to put Deldig’s family under mandatory quarantine.

Two days after, the Department of Health (DOH) cleared Deldig from the virus after his test results turned out negative.

Read: Chan orders mandatory quarantine for family of Yuri Richards

Rea Deldig, 34, the sister of Yuri, said that despite the situation, they never encountered discrimination from their neighbors.

“Dad-an mi ug vitamins sa among silingan, itlog, pan, ug kandila kay bag-o paman to naabot ang abo ni Yuri unya kinahanglan man mi ug kandila. Unya dili man sila kaduol namo, ila rang ibutang atubangan sa among gate,” she said.

(Our neighbors would bring us vitamins, eggs, bread and candles because the ashes of Yuri just arrived and we needed candles. And since they couldn’t come near us, they’d leave all those in front our gate.) 

Rea is living with her 64-year-old mother, Jocelyn, and a one-year-old child in a subdivision in barangay Bankal.

She also thanked mayor Junard “Ahong” Chan for supplying them with their daily needs such as rice, canned goods, and milk for the child.

She added that when this health crisis on the coronavirus disease ends, they are planning to put the ashes of his brother in an ash mausoleum. /bmjo