Sitio Zapatera in Brgy Luz has 24 new COVID-19 cases

Police Colonel Josefino Ligan, Cebu City Police Office chief, conducts a foot patrol in Sitio Zapatera, Barangay Luz, Cebu City at the start of the sitio’s lockdown last week. Today, after a mass testing in the sitio, 24 were found to be positive of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The numbers keep rising for Cebu City as 24 new cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have been recorded in Sitio Zapatera, Barangay Luz in just one day on Thursday, April 16, 2020.

This is the highest recorded number of positive cases in one batch of sampling in Cebu City.

Mayor Edgardo Labella announced on Thursday afternoon that these 24 cases were all asymptomatic and were among those included in the mass testing in the area.

The new cases brought the number of positive cases in Barangay Luz alone to 53 over the past few days and a total of 77 cases in the entire city.

Read more: Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella announces 24 new cases in Sitio Zapatera

The mayor once again reiterated the importance of social distancing and staying at home in preventing the spread of the virus.

“I do not want to sound alarmist, but I want people to know that this is not an ordinary problem. We have to take extra precautionary measures,” said the mayor.

He said how the people in the sitio were still complacent even if the mass testing was being conducted in the area with people still walking about and staying out.

Read more: Army to guard Sitio Zapatera; residents took to social media to air out grievances

“Mao na nagpatawag gyod kog pulis to control didto nga idisperse gyod and maintain social distancing. (That’s why I ordered the police to control and disperse the crowd there and maintain social distancing.)

He understands that the area is crowded with informal settlers, a social problem that dates awhile back and now shows the detrimental consequences.

This social problem would need to have a permanent solution in the future, but Labella said the main focus would be to solve the coronavirus problem now.

Read more: 9K individuals in Barrio Luz’ sitio placed under lockdown

The newly found cases are concentrated in the same sitio, but Labella said that they were preparing measures to take if the virus would spread to other areas in Barangay Luz.

He said there might be a lockdown of the whole barangay if the cases would go beyond the sitio.

Still, he said the only and simplest solution to this “big” problem for the public would be to stay at home./dbs