Cebu City stays under MGCQ amid 1,150 active cases

A portion of Cebu City as seen from Barangay Busay

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu City remains under Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ) despite the city having 1,150 Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in a span of just 30 days.

The Interagency Task Force (IATF) for the COVID-19 announced on January 29, 2021, that along with the rest of the country, Cebu City will remain under MGCQ until the end of February 2021.

The Cordillera Autonomous Region (CAR) was upgraded from MGCQ to GCQ due to the rapid rise of cases there especially the one containing the new variant specifically in Bontoc, Mountain Province.

Also under GCQ are Metro Manila, Batangas, Tacloban City, Davao City, Davao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, Iligan City. The rest of the country is under MGCQ.

The Emergency Operations Center (EOC) welcomed the development saying that though the cases have been rising, it has also remained manageable.

Councilor Joel Garganera, the deputy chief implementor of the EOC said in a phone conference that he is still alarmed with the rise in the cases because it means that the virus is spreading.

However, the low number of deaths and stable occupancy rate for the hospitals maintained at 25 percent, is an indicator that the city has been able to contain the cases.

As long as the healthcare facilities and the isolation centers remain well within their capacities, the cases can be managed thoroughly.

“I am not saying nga I am not alarmed nga nisaka ang cases. Na alarm ta, but we have the infrastructure, the system to manage the cases. Mao na mag-usab ta sa atong batasan sa pagtuman sa paglagda sa health protocols,” said the councilor.

Garganera noted that the number of cases would naturally rise with the freedom accorded to the public with regard to their movement.

The free movement for workers and 15-year-olds to 65-year-olds is to ensure that livelihoods could continue amid the pandemic.

The EOC reminds the public that the spread of the virus is within their hands. Following the minimum health standards of wearing face masks and face shields, maintaining social distancing, and regularly disinfecting would already deter the virus.

As of now the daily positivity rate of the city has reached 7.7 percent, far from the 5 percent pandemic threshold of the World Health Organization (WHO).

This means that more positive cases are being recorded in a single batch of testing.

On the other hand, the EOC expects more recoveries in the coming days. At least 203 patients being reviewed for release, they are only awaiting their final swab test results.

Recoveries are expected to continue to rise as well as the cases recorded early in January 2021 will have finished their 14-day quarantine right now.

For Garganera, the city can safely remain under MGCQ as long as every new case is immediately contained. /rcg