Mandaue eyes stricter implementation of health protocols amid rise of COVID-19 cases  

MANDAUE CITY, Cebu—The Mandaue City government will once again implement stricter enforcement of health protocols as the number of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases here has increased.

Atty. Lizer Malate, head of the city’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC), said the EOC with the police and enforcement teams will have a series of coordination meetings to discuss strategies to be implemented to augment the enforcement arm.

He added the Mandaue City Police Office (MCPO) has also called for a coordination meeting on Tuesday, February 2, 2021 to discuss the matter.

Malate said they observed that the public has become complacent lately.

Based on the latest data from the Health Department, Mandaue City has 359 active cases of COVID-19.

“Aside sa amo’ng icreate nga bag-ong enforcement team nga will be taken from other offices, pangusgan gyud na nato og balik kay it worked before. Ato lang gyud nang balikon, pangusgan kumbaga,” Malate said. 

(Aside from the creation of a new enforcement team that will be taken from other offices, we will strengthen again the implementation of health protocols because it worked before. We just need to do it again, strengthen it.)

Malate said the city will again issue a notice of violation with notice to explain to businesses who will violate health protocols against COVID-19.

He said they have received reports about some establishments violating curfew hours and social distancing protocol.

He added they have also issued notices of violation to businesses such as bars, restaurants, and mixed of both for violating these protocols.

“Ang uban kahibaw na nga naay curfew nga kutob ra unta alas 10, alas 11 pero ang uban magpa dine-in gihapon beyond. Mo follow man gyud ta’g due process but if eventually kung dili gyud, dili na ta magpaabot nga naay magpositive. Ipaclose na nato sila,” he said.

(They know there is a curfew of 10 pm or 11 pm but others still offer dine-in beyod those hours. We follow due process but if eventually they don’t comply, we won’t wait that there will be more positive cases. We will have them closed.)

Malate is encouraging residents to report establishments who are not following safety protocols through the city’s Public Information Office (PIO) Facebook page. 

/bmjo