With 433 cases in two weeks: Labella locks down Alaska, Mambaling

Satellite Image of Alaska, Mambaling in Cebu City | via Google Earth

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella has ordered a lockdown in Sitio Alaska in Barangay Mambaling following a surge of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in the barangay.

In a statement which he released on Wednesday, May 6, 2020, Labella said the surge of cases in the area which totaled to 433 cases in the last two weeks is “alarming.”

“We have agreed to put Sitio Alaska under total lockdown. Kanang Alaska dako kaayo na nga sitio, halos moqualify na as usa ka barangay and very depressed area (Alaska is a very huge sitio that it almost qualifies as a barangay while it is also a very depressed area),” the mayor said.

While on lockdown, the city government will be providing for the needs of its residents like rice, canned goods, hygiene kits, and even vitamins.

Labella said those who were placed under quarantine at the barangay isolation center will also be provided with food and other essentials.

Meanwhile, the mayor also ordered an investigation on a video that is circulating online showing a group of Mambaling residents who were dancing very close to each other, in defiance of the city’s social distancing policy.

“I have instructed City Legal Officer Rey Gealon to look into that because that is a violation of the social distancing. They (the people on the video) should be properly identified. It is important the barangay officials will help,” said the mayor. / dcb