Cops man a border checkpoint in Barangay Bulacao in Talisay City as stricter border controls between Cebu City and Cebu Province are implemented starting Friday, June 26, 2020,. Vehicles are now rerouted to the Cebu South Coastal Road as Talisay City implements the One Entrance One Exit policy.
CEBU CITY, Philippines – Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia announced that there will be no changes in border controls between cities and towns belonging to the province’s territorial jurisdiction.
Garcia, on Sunday, November 15, welcomed the decision of the Cebu City Government to reimplement stricter border controls in an effort to address the increasing number of new coronavirus cases here.
“If the city chooses to institute that border control, well, I thanked them for that kay (because) by doing that, they will in fact save us from trouble and by so doing, will protect the Province from, as what the Mayor said, the rising number of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in the city,” Garcia said.
Both Cebu province and Cebu City are under modified general community quarantine (MGCQ) which is expected to last until November 30.
But when asked if she has any plans to implement changes in cross-boundary travels among the province’s towns and cities, Garcia said there would be none.
“As far as the province is concerned, we are moving on. We are moving forward. We realize that COVID-19, like so many other diseases, will always be there,” she explained.
Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella, on November 14, announced that they have revived stricter border policies that include disallowing non-essential trips to the province’s capital.
RELATED STORY: Labella closes Cebu City borders for non-essential entry, q-pass coding returns on Nov. 16
The mayor also said they will be reimplementing the number-coding scheme among quarantine pass (QPass) holders.
These actions were made in response to the rising number of new COVID-19 cases in Cebu City.
For five consecutive days, from November 10, the city logged double-digit increases in its number of new confirmed coronavirus cases.
Its active cases, which refer to patients still infected with SARS-CoV-2, has risen to 262 as of November 14. /rcg
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