Brgy Guadalupe still leads active COVID cases in Cebu City, chief says residents don’t believe in virus

Empty streets are seen in Barangay Guadalupe in this photo taken Sunday, January 24, 2021, as authorities implement a “Stay at Home Sundays” in order to curb the rising cases of COVID-19 there. CDN digital photo | Pegeen Maisie M. Sararaña

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Barangay Guadalupe remains to have the most number of active Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in Cebu City after a month of the rapid rise in cases.

In the daily trend released by the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) from January 26, 2021, to February 8, 2021, Guadalupe keeps the highest number of cases at 167, followed by Barangay Labangon at 81 and Apas at 77.

Guadalupe Barangay Captain Michael Gacasan said this is expected as they have the highest population in the city at 80,000 residents, many of whom are workers in banks, hospitals, and other establishments.

The continuous movement of the people have been a challenge for the barangay prompting them to impose a Sunday lockdown for residents.

So far the lockdown has helped decrease the movement on the weekends, the days when most people are expected to go out, but this did not reflect in the number of cases in the barangay yet.

“Grabe kaayo ang contact tracing dinhi sa amoa. Kada adlaw dinaghan ang icontact trace,” said Gacasan in a phone interview with CDN Digital.

The village chief added that many of the residents are refusing to believe that there is COVID-19 or that the virus is dangerous as it spreads.

He said that people would rather work and spend their time freely going anywhere they want without fear. This has been a challenge for the barangays as they sometimes cannot keep up with violators.

Gacasan appeals to the residents to follow the minimum health protocols so that they can lift the Sunday lockdowns.

The barangay is hoping for a rise in recoveries in the next days as the Barangay Isolation Center (BIC) in their area has recently been opened after the NOAH Complex at the South Road Properties (SRP) has filled up.

The BICs have 30 rooms with at least 5 beds each. Only 20 of the beds have been filled.

The EOC is still urging the residents to follow the health protocols as they notice a rise in the apprehensions by the police and city enforcers.

The Cebu City Police Office and the Prevention Restoration Order Beautification and Enhancement (PROBE) team apprehended a total of 2,640 adults and 195 minors from January 21 to February 8, 2021.

“Ang pagtaas sa mga kaso tungod rasad kanato, ang pagkunhod niini mahitabo lang ug magkahiusa ta sa pagpatuman sa maong mga protocol, dili kay motuman lang ug naay nagbantay. Daghan kaayo nadakpan sa composite team nato sa enforcement, timailhan nga wala seryosoha sa mga tao ang pagtuman sa maong mga health protocols,” said EOC deputy chief implementor, Councilor Joel Garganera. /rcg