Cebu City EOC’s assurance: No lockdown after elections
Cebu City Councilor Joel Garganera (left).
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Cebu City Emergency Operations Center (EOC) made an assurance that there will be no lockdowns here after the May 9, 2022 elections.
Councilor Joel Garganera, the deputy chief implementor of the EOC, said in a press conference on Friday, May 6, 2022, that as of this point, the city is at its peak health since the pandemic.
“No lockdown after the elections. We are 100 percent sure of that,” said Garganera. ” The last time that we had granular lockdowns was in August of 2020. People haven’t been vaccinated at that time. That’s almost two years ago and yet we’re hearing news like that?”
On May 6, 2022, no new case of COVID-19 was recorded out of the 338 tested individuals, reducing the city’s active cases to only 27.
“Stop spreading that rumor. It would be better if we enjoy being under Alert Level 1 status because we all worked hard for this,” said the councilor.
The councilor said people may be comparing the Philippine elections with the 2021 Indian elections, which caused a rise in cases shortly after the polls.
However, he notes that the vaccination status of the city is already high, with the majority of adults and even minors above 5 years old already vaccinated.
This means that the population is more protected against COVID-19, reducing the risk that infection may lead to severe illness or complications.
For the same reason, the EOC believes there is no fear of another massive spike in the number of cases that would threaten a lockdown again.
Since the start of the campaign period on March 25, 2022, Garganera noted that there has been no spike of cases. In fact, the number of cases just kept going down. This despite large-scale political gatherings were conducted in the city by various political parties and national candidates.
Judging by the trend, he does not see the elections significantly affecting the COVID-19 situation.
Furthermore, Garganera said that healthcare sector is prepared for any spike and has long been stocking on medicines just in case another outbreak strikes.
The councilor said that it is now up to the people to maintain the current trend. As long as they continue to follow the health protocols, he said there is no need to worry of another outbreak or even a lockdown.
The EOC reminds the public to continue wearing their face masks in public, disinfect regularly, and maintain social distacing when they can during the election.
/bmjo
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