Lockdown lifted in Sitio Zapatera

Residents from Sitio Zapatera in Barangay Luz, Cebu City welcome patients who have recovered from COVID-19 in this photo courtesy of Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella.

CEBU CITY, Philippines — After more than three weeks of being placed under total lockdown, residents of Sitio Zapatera in Barangay Luz can finally breath a sigh of relief.

Mayor Edgardo Labella has ordered the lifting of the lockdown in the area on Wednesday, May 20, 2020, following the decrease of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in the area. The sitio (sub-village), with at least 9,000 residents, has been placed under lockdown since April 7, 2020.

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

At least 51 of more than 70 recovered patients have already been released from isolation center at the Barrio Luz National High School.

They completed the final 14-day quarantine required to recovering patients after proving negative to two subsequent swab tests.

There were at least 180 cases from the Sitio Zapatera since April 2020.

“This is an example of how the public can help the government by recovering from the virus. Now the mayor has ordered the lifting of the lockdown in Sitio Zapatera,” said Gealon.

With the lifting, residents from the sub-village can now freely move around the barangay (village) that is located a stone’s throw away from some of the city’s largest and busiest business districts.

Gealon said that in the one-month lockdown, the residents strictly followed the stay at home and social distancing protocol, helping the decrease of cases in the area.

He said the goal of the city now is to ensure that in the coming weeks, more sitios previously locked down will also be freed from their quarantine.

There are still at least 10 sitios in the city that are still under lockdown, including various sitios in Mambaling and Tejero, due to the threat of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19). /bmjo