STOCK PHOTO
CEBU CITY, Philippines – Thirty-five barangays here remain free from any coronavirus transmission even if the city has already been placed under the most relaxed form of community quarantine.
City Councilor Joel Garganera, who heads the city’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC), said these villages reported no new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases for the past 14 days.
“These are barangays with no new cases for the last 14 days,” said Garganera.
Even before the city shifted to the most relaxed form of community quarantine, which is the modified general community quarantine (MGCQ) last September 1, 2020, these 35 barangays have not recorded new COVID-19 infections.
The councilor and the deputy chief implementer of the Cebu City counterpart of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease (IATF-MEID), however, did not disclose the name of the 31 of the 35 barangays.
“Naming a barangay COVID-free could only lead complacency to its residents, and we don’t want that to happen,” said Garganera in Cebuano.
He did name the four others which have been COVID-free since the outbreak struck Cebu City. These are barangays Sudlon I, Buot-Taop, Paril, and Taptap.
READ MORE: 4 Cebu City hinterland barangays remain COVID-free
Factors
Garganera said among the factors local officials are looking into behind this development is the public’s continued compliance with minimum health standards.
“We observed that our people are slowly adapting to the new normal. They distance themselves when meeting other people, they wear face masks, and wash their hands frequently,” he explained.
He also said barangay officials and workers actively enforcing health protocols contributed.
“Our barangays are essential in the sense they are our direct connection to the communities. They, themselves, have put a lot of effort in reinforcing our health protocols,” said Garganera in Cebuano.
The latest bulletin from the Department of Health in Central Visayas (DOH – 7) showed that Cebu City, as of September 13, has documented a total of 9, 742 confirmed COVID-19 cases.
Of this number, 8,696 were recoveries and 661 were mortalities, leaving 385 as active cases of patients still infected with the virus.
Data from the city’s EOC showed that a total of 76 out of the 80 villages have been affected by the virus since it started spreading here in Cebu City. /bmjo