Cebu City Vice Mayor Michael Rama. | CDN File Photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu City Vice Mayor Michael Rama agrees with the national government’s plan to place Cebu City under Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ).
In a phone interview with CDN Digital, Rama said that the MECQ is the best route for the city to take on the way to controlling the pandemic.
However, he said there must be more leeway given to the mountain barangays since these areas have proven to be naturally isolated from the rest of the city.
Out of the 28 mountain barangays in the city, only Busay and Bacayan have recorded cases, but these barangays are closer to the city’s urban center.
“The mountain barangays, they have no cases. We should lift the ECQ (enhanced community quarantine) there but ensure that no one can enter to avoid bringing the virus in,” said the vice mayor.
He said border controls should suffice for the mountain barangays so at least a part of the city can begin to return to normalcy.
Still, for urban barangays, Rama said it is only right that they are placed under MECQ with stricter control in the most affected barangays.
The city must also continue the focused testing, mass testing, and strategic testing for COVID-19 cases in order to identify the infected individuals, isolate them, and control the spread of the virus. /bmjo