CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu City couldn’t be considered the epicenter for the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the country as Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu, the overseer of the Interagency Task Force (IATF), noted the drop in new cases, and death rate four days since the city was downgraded to General Community Quarantine (GCQ).
The IATF overseer said that the drop in death rate, which is now only at 1 to 2 per day, and the drop in daily new cases, which has remained in double figures since the end of July 2020, indicates that the city is now on the way to recovery.
Read: Death rate due to COVID-19 drops in Cebu City, says IATF official
“There was a time that NCR (National Capital Region) at Cebu City [were taking turns as being] the epicenter of COVID-19 [in the country]. Minsan mas mataas ang NCR, minsan ang Cebu City. Ngayon nakita natin nagdrop yung cases sa Cebu City, tumaas na naman ang sa NCR,” said Cimatu.
(There was a time that NCR and Cebu City were taking turns as being the epicenter of COVID-19. Sometimes the cases are higher at the NCR, sometimes the cases are higher in Cebu City. Now we see a drop in the cases of Cebu City, and the cases in NCR is rising.)
Cebu City has been downgraded to GCQ last July 31 while Metro Manila has been placed under Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ) from August 4.
Read: Duterte heeds frontliners’ plea, reimposes MECQ in Metro Manila, other areas Aug. 4 -18
Cimatu attributes the drop of the cases to the stricter implementation of the quarantine protocols. The interventions of the IATF has also been “successful.”
The secretary said Metro Manila should look at how the Queen City of the South handled the COVID-19 situation.
The compliance of Cebuanos should serve as an example to the rest of the Filipinos that if they changed their attitude towards following quarantine protocols, the coronavirus can be contained.
Cimatu assured Cebuanos that the IATF will continue to stay in Cebu to facilitate its recovery down to a Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ).
He said that now is not the time to be complacent as the cases continue to rise, albeit slower than before. The goal of Cebuanos should be to complete the entire quarantine and bring in the new normal way of living with the coronavirus. /bmjo