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FILE PHOTO CDN 2019 / TONEE DESPOJO
CEBU CITY, Philippines – Local officials in Cebu City are now preparing for threats from a new variant of SARS-CoV-2 considered more infectious than the original.
Members of the city’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) gathered for a consultative meeting on Monday, December 28 to discuss initial plans and actions in response to the news of the spread of the mutated SARS-CoV-2 in different parts. of the world.
SARS-CoV-2 is the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) that has already infected more than 10,000 people in Cebu City as of December 27.
The new variant was first reported in the United Kingdom (UK).
Councilman Joel Garganera, who heads the city’s EOC, said they plan to improve existing health protocols, as well as impose stricter border controls.
“This new variant is a wake-up call that we should preserve more of our guards. We must not lower our guard, ”Garganera said in a virtual press conference.
Currently, the Central Visayas Department of Health (DOH-7) and the Cebu City EOC have not registered any COVID-19 patients infected with the new variant of the virus. Both also said that there are no COVID-19 patients who had a history of recent travel from areas where the presence of the new virus is reported.
“According to the report from BOQ (Office of Quarantine) and OWWA (Overseas Workers Welfare Administration), there is no OFW that has recently returned from the UK and other countries that registered the new variant,” Garganera said.
Based on a count by INQUIRER.netAs of December 28, there are already 14 countries that have documented cases of the mutated variant of SARS-CoV-2.
These are Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Lebanon, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, and the Netherlands.
Border restrictions, no city-wide blockades
Among the proposals put forward by local officials and experts is to impose a uniform set of protocols against COVID-19 throughout the island of Cebu, particularly at seaports and Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA).
“The challenge here are those who came from abroad through transit flights. At Mactan, we do not have direct flights from the UK, and UK passengers will need to transit through Clark or NAIA (Ninoy Aquino International Airport), ”said Garganera.
Mayor Edgardo Labella previously said he was more inclined to re-impose ‘granular’ lockdowns and not city-wide in case new COVID-19 cases emerged due to the presence of the mutated virus.
Garganera and DOH-7 also shared the same sentiments.
“Granular is the best at the moment. We don’t have to block the entire city. Granular locks are our innovation to address and contain the virus. We have to be aware that our economy is also suffering, ”Garganera said.
In a separate virtual press conference, DOH-7 spokeswoman Dr. Mary Jean Loreche also said her department was recommending stricter border controls and not large-scale closures.
Loreche also advised port managers to closely monitor passengers who recently traveled from countries where the new variant had been documented by subjecting them to a mandatory 14-day quarantine, regardless of whether they tested negative for COVID-19 from their point of departure. origin.
“We recommend that for extraterrestrial workers returning from these countries, we should remove existing protocols that require that they be swabbed when they get here,” Loreche said.
“They must be quarantined for 14 days, regardless of whether their RT-PCR (real-time polymerase chain reaction) tests are negative,” he added. / dbs
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