No lockdown but cops keep close watch on Guadalupe

CEBU, Philippines —  Although not implementing granular lockdowns, police are heavily guarding a sitio in Barangay Guadalupe, Cebu City to ensure that close contacts will be restricted from going out following the extraction of COVID-19 positive patients.

Of the 80 barangays in Cebu City, 42 have recorded COVID-19 transmissions. The five barangays with the highest number of cases are Guadalupe, Talamban, Lahug, Sambag 2, and Punta Princesa.

“According sa atong chief of police (in Guadalupe), so far karon, duna silay usa ka sitio nga medyo taas-taas nga gi-isolate tanan nga mga close contacts kay ang nag-positive na-extract naman,” said Police Lt. Colonel Wilbert Parilla, deputy director for operations of Cebu City Police Office.

“So kaning nahabilin ron is more on close contacts nalang ni sila,” he added.

Parilla said there is no need to impose a granular lockdown since those who tested positive have been extracted and isolated.

Aside from policemen, village watchers or tanods also help in ensuring compliance with minimum health protocols in the barangay.

Parilla said CCPO will deploy more policemen in the area if Guadalupe Police Station requests for reinforcement but, so far, the situation is still manageable.

On a city-wide scale, police will also make patrols and inspections a daily, rather than weekly, routine through the so-called Oplan Bulabog.

‘Prioritize Guadalupe’

Guadalupe barangay captain Michael Gacasan said the best solution to his barangay’s rising cases is to prioritize it in the vaccination.

Gacasan is not keen on imposing granular lockdowns or stay-at-home scheme on Sundays because the cases are scattered across at least 43 sitios.

“Daghan na pud kaayong maapektuhan nga panginabuhian kong mag-lockdown na pud ta kada Sunday or maski kaning sa granular lockdown. So right now, dili lang sa,” he said.

Guadalupe has 147 active cases who are now isolated in the barangay isolation areas in Tejero, Mabolo, and at City Central.

Gacasan reiterated his call for the city to implement aggressive vaccination in the barangays, especially in their barangay that is the city’s most populous.

“Ni-suggest na ko nila na unta, mas aggressive unta ta sa syudad, dili lang sa tracing, kundi pati sa pagbakuna sa barangay. Ni-suggest ko diri sa amoa kay pirting daghana gud namo diri, pero wala man gihapon,” said Gacasan.

More study

Meanwhile, Cebu City Health officer-in-charge Dr. Jeffrey Ibones has welcomed the idea of nighttime vaccination but said the proposal needs further study.

“We are open to that, pero ato lang sa na istudyohan kay tingalig mag-open ta unya way tawo, gamay ra ang atong mga manganha. Tingalig maalkanse ta sa atong personnel ba, daghan kaytag personnel baya,” said Ibones, head of the city's Vaccine Operations Center.

It was the Cebu City Council that floated the idea of opening vaccination centers at night to cater to those from A4 priority or economic workers who cannot leave their posts during business hours.

Ibones suggested that weekend vaccination be adopted instead.

“It's better nga mo-open guro ta og Sabado ug Domingo kesa nighttime,” he said, adding that nothing is final yet since the opinion of other stakeholders will have to be taken into account.

Johnson & Johnson

In a separate development, Cebu City has received 2,970 vials or 14,850 doses of Johnson & Johnson Janssen vaccine, which only requires one shot for a vaccinee to be considered as fully vaccinated.

The one-shot only vaccine is specifically allotted for senior citizens and those with comorbidities.

According to the masterlist, Cebu City has 37,837 registered senior citizens for vaccination.

“The challenge for Metro Cebu and Project Balik Buhay (PBB) is to make sure that you hunted all the seniors that are masterlisted here, and give your Johnson & Johnson as a single dose,” said Dr. Mary Jean Loreche, spokesperson of the Visayas Vaccination Operation Center.

“Once you are finished with the senior citizens and you still have extra, then you can give it to A3,” she continued.

She also shared that more J & J doses are expected to arrive before the month ends.

“Kelangan po natin tapusin lahat ng senior citizens to be given with the Johnson and Johnson or the Janssen vaccine on or before July 31,” said Loreche, explaining that this will ensure that the vulnerable sectors are secured against emerging variants of COVID-19.

“(This is to) relieve our healthcare (workers), our hospitals, to ensure that we will not be overwhelmed should they become sick,” she said.

In Lapu-Lapu City, Mayor Junard Chan also announced the arrival of J & J doses for seniors.

A total of 6,500 doses have been set aside for the senior citizens who can also avail of the free ride from their respective barangays to the designated vaccination centers, including the newly opened site at the Waterfront Airport Hotel & Casino.

Chan also said vaccination for the first and second dose for A1, A3, A4 A5 priority groups still continues in the city’s four other vaccination centers.

In Consolacion, inoculation for senior citizens will be continued today. Walk-ins will also be welcome. But the vaccinees are instructed to follow the schedule per barangay in order to avoid crowding and maintain social distancing at the vaccination center.

Vaccine stats

Central Visayas has received a total of 1,307,680 doses of various COVID-19 vaccines as of July 19, 2021, the latest of which are 96,450 doses of Janssen.

Loreche, spokesperson of the Visayas Vaccination Operation Center, said that the region has received 610,000 doses of Sinovac, 347,600 doses of AstraZeneca, and 241,020 doses of Gamaleya.

Data also shows that as of July 20, a total of 557,389 individuals have been vaccinated in Cebu.

‘Green countries’

Loreche, meanwhile, said that travelers from 57 countries regarded as “low risk” areas or so-called “green countries” with low cases of COVID-19 will undergo shorter quarantine in the Philippines, which is only seven days in a hotel facility with swabbing scheduled on the fifth day.

This is pursuant to the Inter-Agency Task Force resolution issued last June 28.

“Kailangan you stayed in that country for 14 days prior to your travel and then you are considered to qualify for the shortened quarantine period of seven days in a hotel facility,” Loreche said.

If a traveler lays over in a green country for a short time, even though he or she is originally from a high-risk state, the person cannot avail of the shortened quarantine period.

Instead, the traveler will undergo 10-day quarantine in a hotel plus four-day self-home quarantine, swabbed on Day 7.

“Your mandatory release will be on Day 7 if you are coming from the green country, because we have 48 hours to 72 hours of the release of your result. And if outside of that, you will be released on Day 10 if you are negative by PCR testing,” Loreche said. — Caecent N. Magsumbol, Mitchelle L. Palaubsanon, and Diana Rule D. Salinguhay and Jomelou Q. Menorias, CNU Interns, JMD (FREEMAN)