As infections continue to rise, 6 Cebu City businesses ‘voluntarily close’

The view of Cebu City’s skyline from a high-rise in downtown Cebu City. | CDN Digital Photo by Morexette Marie Erram

CEBU CITY, Philippines — At least six business establishments in Cebu City have voluntarily suspended their operations last week, local health authorities here announced.

Councilor Joel Garganera, who heads the city’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC), told reporters in a message that six businesses temporarily closed to give way to disinfection and isolation of close contacts of confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients.

Garganera said four of these six businesses had recently resumed their operations.

“Six establishments voluntarily closed over the last week… They cooperated with EOC and helped us in identifying the close contacts. They’re isolated and the said premises have been disinfected,” said Garganera.

Garganera also commended the initiatives of business owners and managers to temporarily close down their establishments if a COVID-19 case was documented in their properties.

“This (is) a way to strike a balance between lives and livelihood. These two should coexist and is best achieved when (they) fully cooperate with the EOC authorities and utmost compliance of the minimum health standards in the workplace,” he added.

A separate report by the EOC showed that most of the active COVID-19 patients in Cebu City happened to belong within the ‘working age bracket’.

This meant that 1,300 out of the 1,957 active cases, which refer to patients still infected with SARS-CoV-2, recorded as of February 5 were individuals whose ages are from 20 to 49 years old.

“These are our working-age brackets, and these are the most mobile,” explained Garganera.

“Cases are really high because movements are inevitable, but with proper behavior, we can reduce the number of COVID transmission may it be in the workplace or at home,” he said.

The Department of Health in Central Visayas (DOH-7), in a separate interview, said they were not recommending that Cebu City be placed under another round of lockdown as means to solve the rising cases of COVID-19.

DOH-7 said that the outbreak remained under control despite the continued increase.

Data from DOH-7 showed that as of February 7, the city’s number of active cases stood at 2,096 as it logged 121 additional confirmed patients./dbs

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