Mayor Labella instructs police to inspect commercial establishments
CEBU CITY, Philippines – Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella announced on Monday, August 3, 2020, that he has instructed the police in the city to deploy teams to inspect malls and other commercial establishments.
“I made specific instructions to Colonel Ligan (Police Colonel Josefino Ligan, Cebu City Police director), especially in malls, to deploy members of the Philippine National Police (PNP) to monitor compliance of minimum health standards,” Labella said in a press conference.
Labella also said his orders will also cover other commercial establishments frequented by people now that the city is under general community quarantine (GCQ).
The mayor’s announcement came two days since Cebu City’s GCQ status began on Saturday, August 1, which was marked with reports of dozens of individuals apprehended for allegedly violating existing health protocols, and people crowding commercial establishments.
READ MORE: 570 violators apprehended in Cebu City’s first two days under GCQ
Labella also reminded the public to abide by rules implemented by malls and other shops.
“We told the Cebu City Police to inspect all commercial establishments every now and then since these areas are frequented by people,” he added in Cebuano.
As of August 2, the Department of Health in Central Visayas (DOH – 7) has documented around 9,000 confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in Cebu City.
It was previously downgraded by the national government’s anti-coronavirus task force to GCQ last June 1. But it was short-lived when it was reverted back to the strictest form of community quarantine on June 16 due to high transmission rate, and critical care utilization rates in hospitals reaching danger levels. /bmjo
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