Contact sports may be allowed in Cebu City if…

Cebu City Councilor and Emergency Operations Center Deputy Chief Implementor Joel Garganera answers the press on Monday, November 15, 2021. | Photo by Mae Fhel Gom-os

CEBU CITY, Philippines – Contact sports may soon be allowed here should vaccination reach 70 percent of its target population.

This is what Cebu City Councilor Joel Garganera, who also heads the Emergency Operations Center (EOC), said on Monday, November 15, 2021.

Under Alert Level 2, which is the current alert level status of Cebu City, contact sports such as basketball and volleyball are allowed provided that health protocols are observed.

But Garganera said the city’s barometer for allowing contact sports is the vaccination percentage, saying that as of Monday, November 15, they are still at 54 percent.

“Among gihatagan og kabug-aton ang atong vaccintion. Og moabot na gani tag 70 percent [fully vaccinated individuals], then it all means, why not?” he said.

Garganera said the EOC will be meeting again with the Vaccination Operations Center (VOC), barangays, the Cebu City Sports Commission, and others concerned parties in order to come up with the guidelines for the return of contact sports.

He also stressed that the desired target of each barangay will also be a factor.

“So that is also one of the things that we are going to meet unsa maning mga barangaya nga nagkugi. Unsa maning mga barangaya nga nakab-ot na nila ang desired number. But then again such time nga mobalik mig meeting, we’ll come up with the guideline, not only basketball but also other contact sports,” he said, adding that the guidelines for the open space and closed door may vary.

With this, Garganera urged those who are eager to play contact sports to encourage others to get inoculated against COVID-19.

“Sa tanang gusto moduwaay, palihog lang nga pangampanya mo nga inyong mga suod kauban ninyo sa mga magduwa, mga silingan ninyo, mga pamilya ninyo palihog pabakunahi kay moabot ta’g 70 percent, buhian ta ni,” he said.

“In the meantime, right now, in going there, we’ll come up with guidelines para masiguro ang safety,” he added.

CAUTIOUS

Garganera explained that the reason why they are cautious is because of a lot of gatherings are about to occur.

He said apart from the Christmas season, where there will be religious gatherings such as Misa de Gallo, political events are also expected to happen soon.

“Sa niaging tuig, wa man ta’y politika. Karon, daghan na kaayo ta’g mga gatherings sa politika. So we have to be conscious aning dapita. We have to be conscious because we cannot afford another surge,” he stressed, although the city had a one-percent positivity rate on Monday.

Garganera said the behavior of the people determine on what kind of Christmas they will be celebrating, which is why he emphasized the need to be mindful even if they are gradually easing some restrictions.

“Our behavior karon really determine on what kind of Christmas we’re going to have this coming 25th of December. So we have to be mindful. And then yes, we’re easing up restrictions but were doing this  gradually from curfew, from contact sports, gatherings and then also we put emphasis on the minors,” he said.

The councilor said minors are not yet fully protected despite those aged 12 to 17 years old already getting their first jabs.

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