Gullas to public: Don’t lose faith if COVID cases increase

More COVID-19 cases will be recorded due to contact tracing of previously confirmed cases - mayor

Talisay City Mayor Gerald Anthony Gullas is reminding the public to stay at home on Sunday. | CDN Digital file photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines — As Talisay City officially enters general community quarantine (GCQ) on Monday, June 22, 2020, Mayor Gerald Anthony Gullas has appealed to the public not to lose faith should the city record more coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases.

Gullas admitted that the downgrading to GCQ from modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) is no guarantee that there would be no more COVID-19 cases that would be added to the city’s present count of 159 cases, of which 77 had remained active.

If there would be more cases found, Gullas said it would be due to the contact tracing efforts that the city had conducted for its previously confirmed cases.

Gullas appeal

“Please don’t quit on this government and our fight against COVID if we see a sudden increase in certain days. This is because of our contact tracing,” Gullas said.

“Naa gyud possibility gani na (There is a possibility that) in one day maabot ug (it can reach up to) 30 to 40 new positive cases ta. But I will personally ask all of you to stay the course. Don’t quit on us, don’t quit on yourselves, and don’t quit on Talisay,” he said.

Gullas said the government and the citizens of the city should help each other rather than blaming one another in order to “get somewhere and find the light at the end of the tunnel.”

“Let us not play the blame game. Let us not say that the government is ambiguous or that the people are stubborn. If we continue on doing that, we will never arrive at a solution,” the mayor said in Cebuano.

Among the mayor’s appeal is for his constituents to observe the protocols set by the government to prevent contracting the virus,

“As an individual, wear a mask when going out, practice social distancing, follow government protocols and kami sa gobyerno maninguha sad kuyog ninyo (we in government will do our best to be with you),” Gullas said.

He added that observing the measures against COVID-19, including staying home, would be the best way to thank frontliners who are at risk while serving at the battleground against the infection.

“Our frontliners such as doctors, nurses, health workers, men in uniform and everyone in this fight against COVID will thank you if you do this. Let’s do this for them,” Gullas said

On Sunday, June 21, Gullas announced that he has already received the resolution from the Regional Inter-Agency Task Force (RIATF) reclassifying the city from MECQ to GCQ.

READ: It’s official: Talisay City to be placed under GCQ
READ: Gullas: Talisay City will remain under MECQ in absence of signed copy of IATF resolution

To recall, Talisay City has been the only city in the country placed under MECQ pursuant to the June 15-recommendation of the National IATF.

Local officials here had since suspected that the distinct classification of the city was caused by the “erroneous” data on the recovery rate of the city’s coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases.

Following a meeting with officials of the national IATF on Wednesday, June 17, Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia has issued Executive Order No. 17-E last Thursday, June 18, de-escalating the quarantine status of Talisay City and making it uniform with the rest of the province that is now under GCQ.

Garcia’s EO only needed the concurrence of the regional IATF to take effect.

MECQ-like GCQ

Although the city will already be back to GCQ on Monday, Gullas said stricter protocols for the movement of nonworkers would still be followed.

The mayor reminded that the downgrading back to GCQ does not allow the residents to leisurely move around the city.

“Remember that the reason we are in a GCQ is to revive the economy and for people to get back to work and earn a living,” Gullas said.

Public transportation limited to buses in the national roads and the tricycles in the interiors will also be back on the streets.

Gullas earlier announced that more men in uniform will be deployed in strategic areas for the implementation of the quarantine pass requirement for those who are going out of their homes, curfew, and the guidelines of the city and province’s Executive Orders on GCQ.

In the borders with Cebu City, which is under ECQ, returning workers will only need to present their company ID and certificate of employment (COE) in order to enter Talisay City./dbs