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CEBU CITY, Philippines – Local officials and law enforcers in Cebu City welcomed the continuous decline of COVID-19 cases, especially after recording its lowest number of new infections since January 1, 2021.
And the police attributed this not only to a ‘more compliant’ public but also to the prevailing and controversial liquor ban.
“We’re actually happy to see that Cebuanos are more compliant and their cooperation also contributed massively in bringing down our active cases,” said Police Lt. Col. Wilbert Parilla, deputy director for operations of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO), in Cebuano.
“But also sustaining our liquor ban greatly helped in enforcing our health standards and in the decline of positive cases,” he added.
According to Parilla, since the city government decided to reinstate the liquor ban within the first quarter of 2021, they noted fewer establishments selling alcoholic beverages and ultimately, people going out of their houses to drink even during beyond curfew hours.
“This is also why we will continue to recommend putting in place the liquor ban to our mayor (Edgardo Labella),” he said.
Aside from the CCPO, the Department of Health in Central Visayas (DOH-7) also made a similar recommendation in keeping the city’s liquor ban.
RELATED STORY: Liquor ban should stay in Cebu City &-DOH-7
Cebu City posted more recoveries than additional confirmed cases of COVID-19 on April 11, based on the bulletin issued by DOH-7.
There were 21 new cases, the lowest so far. Meanwhile, the 124 more recovered patients registered on the same date brought down the city’s active cases to 912.
READ MORE: Active cases in Cebu City down to 912
It can be recalled that Cebu City breached the 2,000-mark again in February after experiencing a surge of new infections.
This prompted Labella to reimplement an Executive Order (EO) banning consumption and serving of alcoholic drinks in public places. It was first introduced last year at the height of the pandemic.
RELATED STORY: Labella says he needs 2 weeks to study lifting of liquor ban
/bmjo