Mandaue @51: On better footing in fight vs COVID-19

Mandaue City marks its 51st founding anniversary on Sunday, August 30, 2020. (CDN Digital photo | Brian J. Ochoa)

MANDAUE CITY, Philippines — The city of Mandaue has marked its 51st charter day on Sunday, August 30, 2020, facing a more “streamlined” and standing on a better footing in the fight against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

City Mayor Jonas Cortes, in his State of the City Address (SOCA) delivered to the Public Information Office Facebook page on Sunday, said the recent developments on the COVID-19 situation in the city had caused “cautious optimism” with its active infections continuing to drop and its recoveries increasing.

As of the August 30 data of the city, its remaining active cases are at 225 or about 10.7 percent of its total confirmed cases of 2,095. The city already has 1,778 recoveries and 92 verified deaths.

“We are hopeful with these results as we continue to foster cooperation with private stakeholders and the community,” Cortes said in his SOCA where he laid down the steps that the city took in response to the health crisis.

Cortes admitted that at the onset of the outbreak earlier this year, the city started its response with an “unsure” footing, but it had learned to improve the response along the way.

Cortes said that the present COVID-19 response of the city had now been anchored in a multidisciplinary approach with different component agencies and offices handling each aspect of the city’s actions.

“We learn from our stumbles and we learn from others. Today, our fight against COVID-19 is more streamlined,” Cortes said.

At present, the mayor said the city had continued to foster the “test, trace, and treat” advocacy of the health authorities with its hiring of over 500 contact tracers and the mobilization of its barangay health centers to act as fever clinics for the city residents.

“This fight is a continuing learning experience, and we have learned that time is of the essence. It is critical that we identify the close contacts and ensure that  they do not interact with others the soonest time possible,” Cortes said.

“Our dedication to contact tracing will aid us in allowing our community and our economy to open up again,” the mayor added.

Mandaue City, being one of the highly urbanized cities in Cebu, hosts a large fraction of the overall economy in Cebu, particularly those engaged in manufacturing.

In terms of isolation, Cortes said the city had already accommodated over 700 patients in its isolation facilities, both in the central isolation unit in Mandaue City Central Elementary School (MCCES) and in the barangay isolation units.

In preparation for the upcoming opening of classes this October, Cortes said the city had started to move out and decontaminate the schools as they looked forward to the operability of its two isolation centers — the old North Bus Terminal in Barangay Subangdaku and the Norkis Park in Barangay Looc. | dbs