Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella. CDN Digital Photo | Morexette Marie Erram
CEBU CITY, Philippines – For straight 10 days, Cebu City has logged double-digits in its daily number of new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases.
But for Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella, there is still no need to revert to a stricter community quarantine status.
“Everything is possible under the sun. But, at this point, I don’t think there is really a need for us to upgrade into GCQ (general community quarantine),” Labella told reporters on Monday, January 11, in a press conference.
Labella earlier made a statement that he might recommend putting the city back to GCQ in the event that the recent rise in new COVID-19 cases will not stop.
On Monday, however, the mayor said the city government would first seek the opinion of health officials before making such moves.
“We would not just do it unilaterally without seeking the advice of the medical experts from the City Health Department and the Department of Health. These would really depend on the circumstances,” Labella explained.
“We are still very much far away from that situation unlike in other local governments,” he added.
Data from DOH in Central Visayas (DOH-7) showed that the city’s number of active cases jumped back to 370 on January 10, 2021 after recording 49 additional patients with the infection on that day.
Members of the business sector here in Cebu City have cautioned the local government’s plans to go back to GCQ.
Cebu City has been placed under modified general community quarantine (MGCQ), the most relaxed form of community quarantine, since September 2020 and is expected to last until January 31, 2021.
/bmjo
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