CEBU CITY, Philippines — A day after Barangay Mambaling went viral for its residents dancing on a public place and violating social distancing, the densely-populated barangay in Cebu City broke the 500-mark of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases.
The Cebu City Health revealed that there are 106 new cases of the viral infection in the barangay particularly in the sitios in Alaska.
Alaska is a subdivision of Mambaling comprised of crowded sitios such as Tinabangay, Sentro, Ypil-ypil, Alaska Proper, and Lawis.
The new cases have been recorded in these sitios, bringing the total number of cases in the barangay to 539 with two mortalities.
Mambaling has the highest number of cases in a single barangay in Cebu and in Central Visayas.
Earlier on Wednesday, May 6, 2020, Mayor Edgardo Labella has ordered the total lockdown of Alaska to control the spread of the virus.
The residents asked for some time to prepare through Councilor Eduardo Rama, Jr., because they were not ready for a lockdown.
The city government assured that their needs will be provided for.
There are at least 20,000 households in Alaska, Mambaling.
In earlier statements, Mambaling Barangay Captain Gines Abellana appealed to kind-hearted individuals to donate food, clothes, vitamins, and hygiene products to the isolated patients at the Mambaling Elementary School.
Meanwhile, Cebu City recorded two additional cases on Wednesday as well in Barangays Suba and Tejero.
There are now 1,388 cases of COVID-19 in the city with seven mortalities. /rcg