Shimura after recovery: ‘Complying with health protocols is important’

Daanbantayan Mayor Sun Shimura, the second mayor in Cebu who tested positive for COVID-19, attests the need to wear a mask and other health protocols as he recovered and physically reported at the municipal hall on Thursday, July 16, 2020. (CDN Digital File)

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cheers and balloons from the Daanbantayan Municipal staff welcomed Mayor Sun Shimura on Thursday morning, July 16, 2020, as the chief executive reports for work.

This is the first day that Shimura physically returned to his office after he tested positive for the coronavirus disease on June 21. He was DB Patient no. 3 before he was officially tagged as recovered on July 13.

READ: Shimura is 2nd Cebu mayor to test positive of COVID-19

In his message to the municipal staff, the mayor attested the importance of following the health protocols such as physical distancing and mask-wearing to prevent being infected with the virus.

The mayor also told the municipal employees not to be complacent as they are all frontliners who deal with the public in their daily operations.

“I just hope nga sa akong naagian, di gyud ta mokumpyansa. Kitang tanan, we are frontliners. Everyday, atubang ta og tawo. Wa ta  kahibaw kay di man gyud nato makit-an,” Shimura said.

(I just hope that we will not be complacent, looking at what I have been through. We are all frontliners. We face people every day and we could not be certain because we don’t see the virus.)

“Tinuod gyud diay na nga social distancing nga at least one meter. Tinuod gyud diay nga always wear a mask when you are facing someone, may sakit man ka o wala,” Shimura said.

(Indeed, the need for physical distancing of at least one meter is real. Indeed, one should always wear a mask when you are facing someone, regardless if you are sick or not.)

The mayor was discharged at 70 percent recovered on June 30 and underwent home quarantine in his residence in Mandaue City. His medical certificate, which he posted on his personal Facebook account, shows he was officially tagged as recovered on July 13.

READ: 14 Daanbantayan patients recover; 2 cases left including 8-month-old boy

“I hope sa akong naagian for the past almost 30 days, wa lang untay lain pa gyung makaagi, labi na sa atong mga frontliners diri sa lungsod sa Daanbantayan,” Shimura added.

(I hope that with what I’ve gone through in the past almost 30 days, no one else will go through this, especially our frontliners here in Daanbantayan.) /bmjo