EOC defends stay-at-home order for senior citizens: We’re keeping them safe

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in Cebu City said the stay-at-home order for senior citizen was not a form of discrimination, but instead a form of protection to the most vulnerable age group against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

This is in response to the call of Vice Mayor Michael Rama to already allow the senior citizens to go out under the modified general community quarantine (MGCQ).

EOC deputy chief implementer, Councilor Joel Garganera, said that the data on the total deaths related to COVID-19 in the city showed more than half belonging to the age group of 60 years old and above.

In the data released by the EOC, senior citizens comprised 57.5 percent out of the total 673 COVID-19 deaths in the city.

The age group 40-59 years old comprises 27.8 percent, the 21-39 years old comprises 11.8 percent, and the least vulnerable are the ages 0-20 years old who makes up 3.1 percent.

Garganera said this data showed that once a senior citizen contracted the virus, he or she would most likely die of the virus compared to those from the other age groups.

“We are not keeping our senior citizens as prisoners. We are keeping them safe,” said Garganera.

Read: Rama: ‘Let us free our senior citizens’

The councilor understands that the senior citizens have been lonely, bored, and even depressed that they are not allowed to go out yet under the community quarantine to reduce their exposure to possible coronavirus carriers.

This is the reason the councilor urged the families to make the effort to spend time with the senior citizens in their homes and enjoy their company now.

Garganera said that the support of the family would help the senior citizens endure this time of the pandemic.

“What we really want is to spend more time with our parents, Lolas and Lolos. That is why we keep them at home because we want to spend the next Christmas with them, we don’t want COVID to take them away,” he added.

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The families also have a huge responsibility to ensure that after they go out, they disinfect and prevent bringing home the virus to their vulnerable senior members of the family.

Garganera said the EOC would maintain its stand to keep the senior citizens home as much as they should during the pandemic.

Mayor Edgardo Labella, for his part, already said that senior citizens might go out when absolutely needed like when buying medicine or food.

Still, they are encouraged to remain at home to reduce their exposure to people and the virus./dbs