Cebu City cops want earlier curfew

CEBU, Philippines —  In an effort to control the movement of people owing to the spike in number of new COVID-19 cases, the Cebu City Police Office wants to bring down to 10 p.m. the existing 11 p.m. curfew in the city.

"Usa sa atong basis ana is para the more nga ma-control nato ang movement sa tawo, kay kung early na man gud nato ang curfew, mas ma-prohibit na man ang mga tawo nga mugawas," said Police Lt. Colonel Wilbert Parilla, Deputy City Director for Operations of CCPO.

Parilla said they will forward the recommendation to the city’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) whose decision will have to be approved by Mayor Edgardo Labella, considering that the change in curfew hours will have an impact on businesses that have started to breathe again when the city transitioned to modified general community quarantine (MGCQ) in September 2020.

Councilor Joel Garganera, deputy chief implementer of the EOC, and Raquel Arce, head of the city’s Prevention, Restoration, Order, Beautification, and Enhancement (PROBE) team, support the PNP’s recommendation.

"Mas maayo kay ato pod nakita nga at 11:00, daghan gyud gihapon kaayo ta'g madakpan considering nga galami na ba. So at least by nine o'clock, mo-meter na sila kay padong na sila mouli kay alas 10 curfew na, so dili na sila maahat or mahinayak," Arce said.

She is referring to the 116 curfew violators, including 12 medical doctors, rounded up during the ‘Oplan Bulabog’ on January 16. Two days before that, at least 174 violators were arrested in two nights of the operation.

Majority of those who violated the curfew were found having drinking sessions and other leisure activities in public places.

CCPO Director, Col. Josefino Ligan said the operation is being carried out owing to the spike in COVID-19 cases and based on assessment that residents have become complacent.

Those rounded up are placed in a 'temporary detention cell' in Barangays Labangon and Tejero.

"This is to give them a message nga (they should) impose their own self-discipline," Ligan said.

Guadalupe

CCPO also urged other barangays in Cebu City to replicate the stricter enforcement of existing minimum health protocols like what is being done in Barangay Guadalupe that, at present, has the most number of cases in the city.

Guadalupe has reinstated its quarantine control points to monitor the movement of motorists going in and out of the barangay, and implemented a ‘lockdown’ on Sundays during which commercial establishments, except pharmacies, need to close for disinfection.

Ligan clarified that Guadalupe is not necessarily placed on lockdown.

"It is not necessarily a lockdown but that is strict implementation of all community residents to follow the standard protocols," Ligan told reporters.

CCPO has recommended reactivating the barangay control points.

"Para makahibalo sila nga enforcement security cluster is serious anang mga tawo nga mga gahi gyud og ulo nga di gyud mag-wear og face mask ug face shield; and kanang frequent nga violation nga mag tapok-tapok," Ligan said.

Authorities have since discouraged gatherings as these are fertile grounds for the coronavirus to spread fast – when people lower their guard down, especially when among family and friends.

“Safe Zone”

Based on the January 24, 2021 data of the Department of Health (DOH)-7, Cebu City now has 903 active cases, including 81 new ones recorded that day. EOC’s own data showed 891 active cases.

At least 12 patients have died this month, so far, most of whom are senior citizens and were immuno-compromised.

But even with its 7.45 positivity rate, which is beyond the World Health Organization (WHO) threshold at five percent, the piece of good news is that the city’s critical utilization rate is still in the “safe zone” at 27.5 percent bed occupancy in its 15 hospitals.

Of the total bed allocation for COVID-19 patients, 245 are occupied and 645 remain vacant.

The four public hospitals have an occupancy rate of 57.7 percent or 120 beds occupied and 88 unoccupied.

The 11 private hospitals, on the other hand, have an occupancy rate of 18.3 percent or 125 occupied beds and 557 unoccupied.

Majority of the COVID-19 patients in the city at present, 374 of them, are at the NOAH Complex, which means they are asymptomatic. Seventy others are at the IC3, 64 are at the barangay isolation centers, while the rest are at hospitals and other DOH accredited facilities.

There are 61 barangays now with active infection and 19 zeroed in transmission.

From January 10 to 23, household transmission went up to 42.04 percent. Workplace transmission was at 29.47 percent, social gatherings was at 13.85 percent, transmission at prison facilities was at 11.33 percent, transmission during vacations was at 7.55 percent, and transmission among medical frontliners was at 6.54 percent.

Other areas/sources of infection include supermarkets and public markets, neighborhoods, exposure to a COVID-19 positive and probables, eateries, malls, traveling, drinking spree, dialysis center and laboratories, visitors, inbound travelers, funerals, and even the homeless and a coffee shop.

The EOC has called on other departments at City Hall to look into the different establishments and the homeless.

“Medyo na-alarma ko kay ang atong positivity rate karon is beyond the WHO threshold which is five percent, karong adlawa nag seven percent ta, although ang atong gi-test is 1,000 kapin (1,087 in EOC's January 24 data), dili mu-menos usa ka libo atong gipang-test pero nitaas na naman atong resulta ron,” Garganera said on Monday.

He remains hopeful that numbers would eventually dwindle in succeeding days. He said earlier that he is not keen on putting the city back under general community quarantine and called on residents to be mindful in following health protocols. —  Caecent No-ot Magsumbol and Mae Fhel K. Gom-os, Decemay P. Padilla, JMO (FREEMAN)