Cebu City’s quarantine status for July still undetermined

Policemen man a border checkpoint in Barangay Bulacao in Talisay City as stricter border controls between Cebu City and Cebu Province is implemented starting Friday, June 26, 2020.| CDN Digital file photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu City’s quarantine status for July 2020 remains undetermined four days before the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) is about to end on June 30, 2020.

Retired General Melquiedes Feliciano, deputy chief implementor of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for Cebu, said that the IATF was focusing on setting up all the protocols in place.

The IATF is determined to implement a stricter ECQ similar to that in Metro Manila to lower the cases in the city.

Read more: In Region 7, nearly 2k confined in hospitals due to COVID-19

“We cannot tell (what the quarantine status in Cebu City will be after June 30). It will depend on the number (of COVID-19 cases). Ang sa amin lang (For us, what we focus on) is to have the system and protocol in place and other interventions. We will see the effects, but we cannot tell. As long as the systems are in place, there will be no other choice but to go downward,” said Feliciano.

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The most important factor for the downgrade to happen would be for the city to record lesser cases per day and increase the case doubling time rate from 7 days to at least 10 days or more.

The IATF also want to decongest the hospitals to decrease the critical utilization rate of the medical facilities.

Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella said he is hoping that the city would graduate to a lower form of the quarantine such as a modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) or a general community quarantine.

Read more: Guidelines for the new quarantine passes in Cebu City

Mayor Labella is hoping for the cooperation of the public so that the downgrading of the city’s status can be hastened. /dbs