Mandaue authorities cordon part of Casuntingan sitio

Authorities have set up a tent where they will set up the checkpoint as they implement a lockdown of a portion of Sitio Mangga, Barangay Casuntingan, Mandaue City involving families of 30 houses, who live near the house of a confirmed COVID-19 patient in the area. | Norman V. Mendoza

MANDAUE CITY, Cebu, Philippines — The officials of Barangay Casuntingan, Mandaue City, and the police have cordoned or “locked down” a portion of Sitio Mangga of Barangay Casuntingan this afternoon, April 16, 2020.

This developed after one of the residents in the sitio has been found to be positive of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Felix Suico Jr., Mandaue City’s Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (CDRRMO) chief, said that the families living in 30 nearby houses from the patient’s residence would be locked down.

Suico said that these would involve at least 150 individuals.

According to Suico, there are at least 500 families in Sitio Mangga or at least 2,500 individuals.

He said that this would mean that the families of these 30 houses would be placed under strict home quarantine or would not be allowed to go out, except for one designated person.

“Atong gi-allow ang usa sa membro sa matag pamilya nga makagawas aron makapalit og pagkaon ug uban pang importanteng kinahanglanon,” said Suico.

(We will allow a member of each family to go in and out to buy necessities and other important needs).

However, Suico said this designated family member should wear a face mask, sanitize his or her hands and footwear and undergo body temperature checks upon passing the checkpoint set up in the area to control the movements of the residents.

With this, the authorities have classified Sitio Mangga of Barangay Casuntingan as a Red Zone and have cordoned the patient’s compound.

The police and the barangay personnel, who would be in charge of controlling the movements of those affected residents, would be equipped with sanitizing materials and a thermal gun to check on the residents body temperature.

Suico said that they had also scheduled a disinfection of the Barangay Casuntingan.

Read more: Infants among new COVID-19 cases in Cebu City

The authorities’ action was prompted by the confirmation of the Department of Health-Regional Epidemiology Surveillance Unit  in Central Visayas (DOH-RESU-7) on Wednesday, April 15, 2020 of another COVID-19 positive case in Mandaue City.

The patient is a 73-year-old man who lives in Sitio Mangga, Barangay Casuntingan, Mandaue City and is currently admitted at a hospital in Cebu City. 

He initially was reported as manifesting influenza like symptoms, but he is currently asymptomatic.

He had a travel history abroad together with his wife, but the wife was negative of COVID-19.

The wife, however, was considered a Person Under Monitoring (PUM). 

The Mandaue City Health Office, CDRRMO, and the barangay concerned have already cordoned the residence of the patient and had also ordered the family of the patient to undergo strict home quarantine.

According to the Department of Health in Central Visayas, there have been three COVID-19 cases in Mandaue City. Among these three cases, two have already recovered from the disease./dbs