A man negotiates the shallow portion of the flooded street after the heavy downpour flooded parts of a street in Barangay Tisa in Cebu City. | Contributed photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Emergency Operations Center or EOC in Cebu City is urging the barangays to help maintain the health protocols in evacuation areas during times of disasters.
EOC deputy chief implementor, Councilor Joel Garganera, said that it would be a challenge to keep during times of disasters because evacuees would be placed in a confined space.
Garganera cited the possibility of placing the evacuees at risk of spreading or contracting the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which would further place them in distress.
With this, the EOC has been coordinating with the Cebu City Health Department (CCHD) and the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) in ensuring that during the evacuation, the affected families will be placed in a secure space without jeopardizing the health protocols.
Read: 179 families evacuated in Cebu City due to danger of landslides
Garganera said that the last thing the city would need would be for the COVID-19 cases to rise again amid the threat of disasters brought by the La Niña season.
Currently, there are a total of 179 families evacuated from the barangays as preemptive measures against landslides, while more than 2,000 individuals have been evacuated as well in the city’s downtown and uptown barangays due to flooding.
Read: Mango Avenue flooding, flash flood deaths draw concern of Cebu City government
“The CCHD attended our emergency meeting this morning, and they will be assisting in the evacuation to ensure that the health protocols are being implemented,” said Garganera.
Read: Cebu City’s active COVID-19 cases are down to 230
The city is now down to 230 active cases, with only two new cases recorded on October 13, 2020. The EOC is hoping to further reduce these active cases so that they can focus on monitoring and surveillance.
The EOC urged the evacuees themselves to be vigilant as well and maintain social distancing in evacuation centers during profiling, distribution of aid, and while waiting for their return home.
The evacuees are also encouraged to disinfect often since they are surrounded by more people than they normally encounter at home./dbs