Police Colonel Josefino Ligan, CCPO director, shows the relationship of increase in protocol apprehensions and the decrease in COVID-19 cases in Cebu City. | CDN Digital file photo
MANDAUE CITY, Cebu — Police here believe that the intensified enforcement of minimum health protocols have contributed to the decreasing number of COVID cases in Cebu City.
This after the law enforcers rounded up a total of 9,474 individuals for various protocol violations in August. Of this number, 7,503 were adults and the 1,971 were minors, whow were rescued.
Police Colonel Josefino Ligan, Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) chief, said majority of the apprehended was noted on the second week of the month where a total of 406 and 445 were apprehended in August 18 and August 21, respectively.
Of the 9,474 individuals, 6,623 of them were caught for violating curfew hour, 3,246 for non-wearing of face masks, and 50 others for the liquor ban.
Ligan emphasized that at least two police stations covering barangays which included Ermita and Sawang Calero showed a significant decrease of COVID active cases in the entire month amid the high number of violators.
The CCPO chief said only 64 COVID active cases under Police Station 5 (Carbon) were recorded that month as compared to their total number of apprehensions of 1,164.
Ligan further noted that the strict enforcement of protocols might have contributed to the low number of active cases under Police Station 6 (Sawang Calero) with 223 as they apprehended a total of 1,052 individuals.
“This data clearly show that when there is intensified effort in implementing our minimum public health safety, naa gyud siya’y corresponding effect nga momaba gyud ang atoang kaso,” he said, though there are other stations which also noted high number of apprehensions.
(This data clearly show that when there is intensified effort in implementing our minimum public health safety, there is a corresponding effect of our [COVID] cases going down.)
“Gi-highlight lang nako ang stations 5 and 6 kay significant kaayo ng deperensya sa ilahang active cases ug sa apprehended persons,” the CCPO chief said.
(I just highlighted Stations 5 and 6 because the difference in their active cases and apprehended persons.)
Meanwhile, as of the second week of that month, Ligan noted the top 10 barangays where a lot of minors were rescued. These included Guadalupe, Calamba, Talamban, Tejero, Sawang Calero, Kalunasan, San Nicolas, Mabini, Lahug and Ermita.
With the extension of the Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ) status in the city, Ligan said he hoped that while they continued to strictly enforce the minimum health protocols, COVID-19 cases here would continue to drop as well.
Based on the case bulletin of the Department of Health (DOH-7), as of September 1, Cebu City logged 381 new COVID cases, bringing the total number of its active cases to 3,997.
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