View of Cebu City Skyline from a mid-rise building in Mandaue City on February 16, 2020. CDN Digital Photo | Morexette Marie B. Erram
CEBU CITY, Philippines – Members of Cebu City’s business community are urged to do their part in preventing the rapid transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
Felix Taguiam, president of Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI), in a statement issued on November 16, 2020, reminded business operators here to ‘exercise prudence in the implementation of the minimum health standards’ in their workplaces.
“As the Cebu City Government intensifies the enforcement of the health protocols, monitoring, and apprehension of violators, we urge the business operators to do everything possible to ensure that your workers, clients, and customers are safe and protected against contracting coronavirus,” Taguiam stated.
He also told the private sector that although the recent rise of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in Cebu City has not reached alarming levels yet, this should not be taken lightly.
“There is nothing to be alarmed of just, yet… However, we do not wish to go back to a stricter of former community quarantine,” said Taguiam.
“After being identified as a second epicenter last June 2020, Cebu caught the eye of President Rodrigo Duterte and directly blamed us, Cebuanos for the rising COVID-19 cases. We took it upon ourselves as a challenge and then months later, we have successfully flattened our coronavirus curve,” he added.
Composed of over 1,000 members, CCCI is the country’s second-largest business organization, next to the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI).
Earlier, Taguiam and other business groups here in Cebu reiterated their reminders to the public to always follow health protocols if it meant preventing another lockdown.
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The COVID-19 outbreak here severely impacted business establishments as an outcome of the months-long lockdown implemented to slow down the transmission of SARS-CoV-2.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has brought massive destruction to business enterprises, the economy, and people’s lives. Let us now allow it to cause any more damage. Our survival as a people depends on our ability to balance between health measures and the resumption of economic activities to provide a livelihood to our people,” Taguiam explained.
As of November 15, data from DOH -7 showed that the city’s number of active COVID-19 cases has risen to 292 after recording 30 additional confirmed patients on that day.
It also marked the sixth consecutive day for Cebu City logging double-digit in its daily number of new coronavirus cases.
/bmjo
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