Gwen allays concerns: No lockdown

CEBU, Philippines —  Amid ongoing efforts to contain coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia urged the public to remain calm as she quelled concerns that the province would be placed on lockdown anytime soon.

“There is no lockdown. There is no need to panic. Please stay calm and please listen to your government. Listen to your governor,” Garcia told reporters yesterday, dispelling rumors that she would be declaring a province-wide lockdown after Cebu recorded its first COVID-19 case on Wednesday.

Garcia said stringent measures are in place to fight entry and spread of the virus, such as her executive orders closing Cebu’s borders to domestic flights and passengers. Movement of cargoes and other supplies, however, will be unhampered.

“If entry of supplies is unimpeded, then there is no reason to fear that our supermarkets and pharmacies will run out of goods,” she said, pointing out there is no need to hoard supplies.

With the first COVID-19 case recorded in Cebu, particularly in Mandaue City, Garcia said there is a need for stricter measures to be adopted by the province, together with the cities of Cebu, Mandaue, and Lapu-Lapu.

“We need stricter measures to avoid the spread. Stricter measures do not mean lockdown; they are not the same,” she said.

100 test kits arrive

At the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center in Cebu City, a total of 100 testing kits for COVID-19 have arrived from the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM).

VSMMC is one of four hospitals identified by the Department of Health as sub-national testing laboratory for the virus.

VSMMC chief Dr. Gerardo Aquino said that their laboratory is now conducting tests for 60 specimens but emphasized that only 75 of the 100 kits will be used immediately while the rest will serve as a buffer for emergency purposes.

DOH-7 Director Jaime Bernadas said that the 60 specimens were taken from in-patients or those currently admitted and showing COVID-19 symptoms.

Bernadas said doctors are assessing who among those currently admitted shall undergo the testing.

“All those with symptoms are supposed to undergo testing but we do not have the luxury of doing it because of the lack of test kits,” he explained.

Bernadas said that those currently in the hospital and have severe acute respiratory infection are the priority in the testing.

“Then if we have more testing kits, those who have the symptoms of COVID-19 will be tested,” he added.

Bernadas also said that the costs of testing will be subsidized by the government.

“The government is fully subsidizing it. It is not for sale, not for payment, not available for all. It is for the doctors who will identify as to who will be tested. It is a matter of prioritizing as to who will be tested,” the DOH-7 chief said.

Bernadas said that while there are private entities willing to give them testing kits, the same cannot be used unless authorized by the Food and Drugs Administration.

He also said that the equipment or facilities to be used in testing the specimens are highly specialized, and VSMMC is the only authorized facility to do it in Cebu at the moment.

Bernadas and Aquino expressed optimism that more authorized testing kits will arrive in Cebu soon.

2 chinese intercepted

Meanwhile, two Chinese nationals who boarded a pumpboat from Negros Oriental to Ginatilan town, southern Cebu were intercepted by the police yesterday and made to undergo quarantine.

The interception happened at a time when Cebu is implementing a ban on the entry of travelers from Negros Island following the reported confirmed cases of COVID-19 there.

Ginatilan police chief Lieutenant Revelito Tadique said a town councilor reported to the police the arrival of the pumpboat ferrying the Chinese in Sitio Kalubihan, Barangay Poblacion. However, the people who maneuvered the boat were able to flee the area.

Through an interpreter, the two Chinese nationals said they were planning to leave the country but have not secured their tickets yet.

While no charges will be filed against them, they will be placed under a 14-day quarantine.

Cebu Provincial Police Office director Colonel Roderick Mariano said cases such as this are to be expected in light of the ongoing ban on travelers from Negros.

Mariano said police are coordinating with residents in the towns in ensuring that no boats from the neighboring island could dock in their respective areas.

He warned that they will arrest the persons who maneuver the boats, as well as impound the boats, for violating the governor’s executive orders.

Stranded No More

In another development, some 240 stranded foreign passengers were successfully flown yesterday to Manila from the Mactan-Cebu International Airport via recovery flights mounted by Philippine Airlines and the Department of Tourism-7, in coordination with the Philippine Air Force.

In a statement, MCIA said it has been assisting more than 600 foreign passengers affected by the government-imposed travel restrictions and cancellations of domestic flights in Cebu.

Passenger service agents are assisting with hotel bookings and addressing passenger concerns while foreign embassies have been providing assistance and food packs.  JMD (FREEMAN)