EOC Czar: Cebu City not ready for ‘new normal’

The skyline of uptown Cebu City | CDN Digital File Photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines – The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in Cebu City has been brought down to manageable levels.

But for the czar of the city’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC), the city is not yet qualified to be placed under the ‘new normal’ classification.

“We’ve come a long way and so far we’re doing okay but we’re far from being ready for the new normal,” said Councilor Joel Garganera, who heads the EOC.

Garganera’s comment came a day after city health officials reported only six new deaths related to COVID-19 for the month of October.

Cebu City also capped October with less than 200 active cases or patients who are still infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

While recent coronavirus statistics indicate an improvement in the city fight against the transmission of the virus, Garganera said more work needs to be done if this would mean graduating to a ‘new normal’ status with lesser chances of another spike.

“(We can only proceed to new normal) when we don’t need to call out and remind others to observe the basic health protocols, when we don’t need the presence of police or authorities for us to be compliant. Then, only then can we say that we’re ready for a new normal,” he explained.

Garganera’s observation coincides with the earlier statement of the Department of Health in Central Visayas (DOH-7) on the need to extend the city’s modified general community quarantine (MGCQ) status until December.

RELATED STORY: DOH-7 recommends MGCQ for Cebu City until mid-December

As of November 1, data from DOH-7 showed that Cebu City has already documented a total of 10,266 confirmed cases of COVID-19. Of this number, 9, 434 were recoveries while 678 were mortalities.

The national government recently extended Cebu City’s MGCQ status until November 30.

RELATED STORY: Entire Cebu remains under MGCQ until Nov. 30

/ dcb