Mayor Labella wants Cebu City under GCQ after June 15

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella said he wants the city to remain under the General Community Quarantine (GCQ) even after June 15, 2020, as new cases of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) are still emerging in the city.

In a phone interview, Labella said with the current situation of the city, downgrading to Modified GCQ may not be the best route to take to stop the spread of the virus.

He said being under MGCQ would entail entertainment centers to open, senior citizens and minors will be able to go out on the streets anytime, and there will be less restriction in the movement of the public.

This could be dangerous still for Cebu City that continues to record cases of the COVID-19 even though recoveries have been increasing as well.

“I think the MGCQ is very lax, it’s too lenient. For me, I want us to remain under GCQ after June 15. But of course, that is subject to the assessment of the IATF (Interagency Task Force),” he said.

Yet in recent statements, the consultants for the IATF in Cebu said that if the cases of the city will continue to rise, it is in danger of reverting back to a stricter Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ).

Labella said the city will have to appeal this because of the recoveries in the city, which has exceeded 60 percent of the total cases, which is currently 2,883.

“We have a very high recovery rate, even bigger than the national. I think we don’t need a MECQ,” said the mayor.

The mayor said the city will have to wait on the decision on IATF on the fate of the city after June 15, but he hopes the IATF would consider the high recovery rate and low mortality rate of the city in its decisions. /bmjo