Cebu City to comply with IATF’s resolution allowing minors, seniors to go out of homes
But Mayor Labella still urges public to stay home unless for urgent matters
CEBU CITY, Philippines—The Cebu City Government is willing to adopt new guidelines from the national government’s anti-coronavirus task force but still asks the public to only go out of their homes for urgent needs.
Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella, in a press interview on Monday, October 19, 2020, said they have ‘no intentions to disobey’ new resolutions from the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease (IATF-MEID) that lifts the ban of minors below 21 years old and senior citizens from going out of their houses.
“I will be issuing a more comprehensive executive order (EO) that would cover all new guidelines being issued by IATF. Allowing minors and seniors to go out of their homes, it is an interagency task force regulation. Of course, we have no intentions of not complying or to disobey,” said Labella.
Labella, however, urged the youth and elderlies to only go out of their houses for essential itineraries, and not to abuse the relaxation of quarantine protocols.
Read: Labella: We need to keep senior citizens safe at home
“Hangyoon ta mo nga dili lang mo paggawas kung dili essential or importante ang tuyo sa paggawas… Kung nakaagwanta ta sa pila ka buwan, way rason di ta kaagwanta sa sumsunod nga mga adlaw,” said Labella.
(I’m asking you not to go out unless you have essential or urgent trips. We have managed to stay inside our houses for several months, there should be no reason why we can’t do the same in the coming days.)
“The virus is still very much around. We are still in quarantine. So please, don’t abuse the kind of liberty and relaxation, and always adopt the attitude that we’re still on quarantine,” he added.
Labella, however, did not mention as to when he will be releasing the new set of guidelines.
Mayor concerned
Last Friday, October 16, Malacañang announced that the IATF-MEID has allowed minors age 21 years old and below, and senior citizens to go out of their houses for non-essential travels.
For his part, Labella admitted that he is concerned over easing more quarantine restrictions such as the age limit of individuals allowed in public places.
Read: Stay at home order for Cebu City minors, elderly inked
“This kind of concern is always there since we experienced it before when we were in GCQ (general community quarantine), and we relaxed our protocols. A lot of people went out and we forgot we’re still under quarantine. It is for this reason why I’m reminding everyone that the virus is still there,” he explained.
Cebu City was reverted back to enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) last June, two weeks after it downgraded to GCQ, due to a surge of new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases.
It only returned to GCQ last August, and finally to modified general community quarantine (MGCQ), the most relaxed form of community quarantine, last September.
/bmjo
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