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The secretary of the ENVIRONMENT, Roy Cimatu, announced in the early morning of Monday, August 31, 2020, the reduction of the quarantine status of the city of Cebu to a modified general community quarantine as of September 1, despite fears that greater relaxation of restrictions on public movement rescale Covid 19 cases.
Cebu City experienced an increase in coronavirus disease 2019 cases when its Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) status was downgraded to General Community Quarantine (GCQ) from June 1 to June 15, forcing the National Government to intervene with Cimatu appointed as the Cebu City Covid-19 Response supervisor.
On the night of August 31, President Rodrigo Duterte’s approval of the new quarantine classifications was announced, including the Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ) status of Cebu City.
Cebu City, the first local government unit to revert to stricter quarantine rules on June 15, is placed under the more relaxed MGCQ following declines in coronavirus infections.
Other areas that were under GCQ in the last two weeks and that also changed to MGCQ are Lapu-Lapu City, Mandaue City, Talisay City, Minglanilla and Consolacion in Cebu, Iloilo City, Cavite, Rizal, Quezon and Nueva Ecija.
Duterte also approved the recommendation to revert the town of Iligan in northern Mindanao to a modified enhanced community quarantine.
The National Capital Region and the provinces of Batangas and Bulacan will remain under GCQ. Tacloban City in Leyte and Bacolod City in Negros Occidental, which saw an increase in new coronavirus infections last week, will return to GCQ.
The rest of the country will be under MGCQ from September 1 to 30.
Cebu City Covid-19 Cases
On June 30, the Department of Health (DOH) 7 reported a total of 5,494 confirmed Covid-19 infections with 2,723 recoveries and 169 deaths in Cebu City. The number of active cases at that time was 2,602.
Two months later, on August 30, DOH 7 reported 622 active cases of Covid-19 in Cebu City, after recording a total of 8,343 recoveries. The city had a total of 9,614 confirmed cases of Covid-19 with a total of 649 deaths.
Cimatu announced the change from Cebu City to MGCQ from September 1 to 30 before the president’s announcement of his approval of the recommendation of the Interagency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, the integrated body of government agencies that leads the country’s response to Covid-19.
Cimatu, a retired general, congratulated Cebu City residents on the reduction in quarantine during an online press conference on August 31. It will move to Bacolod and Iloilo as these two cities in Western Visayas are experiencing an increase in Covid-19 cases.
“I am here to congratulate the Cebuanos; we did it. We did it because our number of active cases has dropped because we have more recoveries and it is an indication of the seriousness of the leadership here and also from the Department of Health and other agencies, ”he said.
He further said: “We will replicate what we have done in Cebu. Gamitin natin na model ang Cebu City (We will use Cebu City as a model) “.
In Cebu City, authorities implemented “granular closures” or closed a section of a barangay or street if a resident tested positive for Covid-19. This practice is considered less restrictive as it does not limit the movement of residents in other areas that do not have active Covid-19 cases.
First time in MGCQ status
In nearly six months of being placed in community quarantine, Cebu City had never been placed in MGCQ status.
Labella first placed Cebu City on GCQ from March 16 to April 14, but the mayor changed the status to ECQ on March 28 after the city saw an increase in Covid-19 cases. The ECQ status, which was supposed to end on April 28, was extended until May 15 in an announcement made by Labella on April 22.
Two days later, on April 24, the National Government said that local chief executives can no longer impose quarantine measures. This role was awarded to the IATF.
The IATF then extended the ECQ status of Cebu City from May 16 to May 31. From June 1 to June 15, the City of Cebu was placed on GCQ after the IATF approved Labella’s appeal not to place the city under Modified ECQ (MECQ), the original IATF decision for that period. . ECQ status was re-imposed in Cebu City from June 16 to June 30, and lasted until July 15.
Cebu City changed to MECQ from July 16 to July 31, then to GCQ from August 1 to August 31.
Transition period
MGCQ “refers to the transition phase between GCQ and New Normal, when the following temporary measures relax and become less necessary: limiting movement and transportation, regulation of operating industries, and the presence of uniformed personnel to enforce community quarantine protocols “. in accordance with the IATF omnibus guidelines as amended on July 16, 2020.
Opening of tourist spots
Labella plans to open a few tourist destinations in a Cebu City MGCQ, and this includes a flower farm in the mountainous Sirao barangay, where several vendors said in a TV report that they want the tourist spot to reopen in order to earn a living. .
The mayor had said he would still limit public movement by requiring residents to carry their QR-coded quarantine passes under an MGCQ setup.
Minimum public health standards, such as wearing masks and observing physical distance, must be adhered to at all times in areas under GCQ and MGCQ.
Public movement in the GCQ and MGCQ environments is limited to obtaining essential goods and services and working in the offices or industries that are permitted to operate.
Movement for leisure reasons is prohibited according to the GCQ guidelines.
In areas under GCQ and MGCQ, people under the age of 21 and those who are 60 and over, people with immunodeficiency, comorbidities or other health risks, and pregnant women should stay home at all times unless they have to purchase essential goods and services, or are allowed to do so. work in permitted businesses.
The IATF said that activities and movements allowed for the same age group under other sections of its guidelines will continue to be allowed under MGCQ.
Public transportation is permitted in both GCQ and modified GCQ environments as long as physical distance is observed within permitted public service vehicles.
Business sector
Several companies have been operating since August 1.
Cebu business leaders said the public should not be complacent during a pandemic, whatever the quarantine status of Cebu City.
Felix Taguiam, President of the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said: “As we all know, Cebu has been improving a lot and has seen the flattening of the curve. Whether it’s MGCQ or ECQ, we must not give up and learn from our ordeal of being placed under enhanced community quarantine. “
Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Steven Yu said that alongside the MGCQ, there should also be an improvement in public transportation so that workers can freely go to their offices.
Ferro’s stance
Police Regional Office 7 Director Albert Ignatius Ferro, in a separate initial interview on Aug. 31, said he would respect if the government decided to downgrade the quarantine status of Cebu City to MGCQ.
But he stood firm in his stance that Cebu City’s GCQ status should be extended despite the drop in new Covid-19 cases in the city.
Ferro’s stance stems from his concern over a quarantine security vacuum that will be created with the transfer of surge forces to the cities of Iloilo and Bacolod to help enforce public health measures to contain the increase in the number of Covid-19 cases there.
Community quarantine violations are expected to increase if fewer police officers are on the streets, and Covid-19 cases could increase if public movement is not restricted, according to Ferro.
Ferro wants the GCQ status to be extended for a week or until the arrival of 250 new police officers to help local police enforce quarantine measures.
The police officer already met with Labella and the IATF Deputy Implementer for the Visayas Response for Covid Melquiades Feliciano; he discussed his position with the officers. (JJL, JOB, AYB / KAL, MVI from SunStar Philippines)
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