Mandaue City mulling unified curfew with neighboring cities

MANDAUE CITY, Philippines- The tri-cities of Mandaue, Cebu, and Lapu-Lapu are expected to follow a unified curfew within this week.

This was divulged by Lawyer John Eddu Ibañez, executive secretary of Mayor Jonas Cortes on Tuesday, March 16, 2021.

Ibañez said officials of the three cities will meet to discuss the matter within the week. 

As of the moment, the city’s curfew is from 11:00 pm to 4:00 am. In Cebu City and Lapu-Lapu City, the curfew runs from 10:00 p.m to 5:00 a.m

The move, according to Ibañez, is done to help curb the increasing number of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in Central Visayas.

He said Cortes is expected to issue another Executive Order to unify the curfew within the week.

Meanwhile, Mandaue City now has a 10-percent positivity rate.

Based on the data from the Department of Health in Central Visayas (DOH-7) on March 15, 2021, Mandaue City has 1,175 active cases.

Ibañez said though the utilization rate of the hospitals in the city is not yet alarming, the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and teams continue to trace cases, enforce health protocols, among others.

Ibañez added the capacity of the city’s isolation units are also not yet full. In fact. as of the moment, there are no COVID-19 patients at the Mandaue City Isolation Center located at the old Cebu North Bus Terminal in barangay Subangdaku.

Currently, the patients are admitted at the Norkis Park Isolation Unit and the isolation unit at the Mandaue City Central School.

The city also continues to procure safety kits to be given to families who will be placed under lockdown.

He is encouraging the public to not be complacent and always follow the basic health protocols. 

/bmjo