Data from the Department of Public Service (DPS) showed that they collected 110.98 tons of garbage they classified as ‘assumed-infectious’ since these came from communities where COVID-19 cases are reported. | Photo courtesy of DPS
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu City has produced 110 tons of garbage from areas infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), from May 1 to 20, 2020.
Data from the Department of Public Service (DPS) showed that they collected 110.98 tons of garbage they classified as ‘assumed-infectious’ since these came from communities where COVID-19 cases were reported.
A total of 42 garbage trucks were also used to haul garbage out of these areas, DPS said.
“It has been a standing order of Mayor Edgardo Labella to collect data as much as we can considering that what we are facing now is novel and one of the things we can rely upon is data,” they added.
Cebu City has a population of more than 1 million and produces an average of 600 tons of garbage in a day.
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As of May 24, a total of 1,869 COVID-19 cases have been recorded in the city, majority of which are found in densely populated neighborhoods such Alaska Mambaling, Barangays Luz, Labangon, Suba, Tejero, and the Cebu City Jail in Barangay Kalunasan.
Garbage collectors and truck drivers have been wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) to avoid getting infected with the virus. /dbs