Central Visayas under MGCQ until November 30

CEBU, Philippines —  Cebu City and the rest of the Central Visayas region will remain under the modified general community quarantine (MGCQ), at least until November 30, according to the latest classification from the Inter-Agency Task Force.

The cities of Bacolod and Iloilo in Western Visayas and Tacloban in Eastern Visayas will be under general community quarantine during the same period.

Also under GCQ are the National Capital Region, Batangas, Iligan and Lanao del Sur, while the rest of the country will be under MGCQ.

Restrictions remain

Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella has welcomed the city’s classification, saying COVID-19 is still very much around.

Thus, he said restrictions should remain in place.

He asked the Cebuanos to continue to follow health protocols.

“If we remove our quarantine classification, it will be free for all. We need to impose discipline,” said Labella.

In a related development, Labella is also set to meet with mall owners after receiving reports that some health protocols are no longer observed in these establishments.

In fact, there were reports of pickpocketing, a crime that can only be committed when people are physically close to one another.

Also, masks and face shields have not been reportedly worn.

There were also reports that a mall has not required mallgoers to sign the contact tracing form while minors below 15 years old and seniors above 65 year old have  also been seen in malls for purposes other than the purchase of essential goods.

“Let us remind the mall owners once again, remind them of the minimum health protocols. Let us never be complacent, never adopt the attitude of ningas cogon,” Labella said. — Decemay P. Padilla, JMD (FREEMAN)