Doctor asks city: Clean skywalks, pavements

CEBU, Philippines —  A pathologist calls on the Cebu City government to keep the city clean, as it continues to fight the spread of the COVID-19.

Dr. Kathrina Catingub, who is working at the Department of Pathology at the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center(VSMMC), has noticed garbage, including human waste and urine, on her way to work passing through a skywalk near the Department of Health’s regional office along Osmeña Boulevard.

Other Cebuanos also added that other skywalks share the same fate since homeless people normally stay there, especially at night.

“I cross this skywalk to and from work and since the beginning of the ECQ, nagkadaghan na gyud ang basura diri sa skywalk. No one has cleaned it for the past eight weeks. There's a lot of shit under those pieces of cardboard and in plastic containers and bags. I see various colors and bits of food. Naa pay daghan ihi inside water bottles and dried-up vomit on the steps near the DOH side,” Catingub said.

She added that while people are trying to maintain proper hygiene to prevent viral transmission, it is sad to note that skywalks, and even some sidewalks, have not been cleaned up, although there are workers from the city government seen disinfecting the sidewalks.

“To the city officials, I hope that sanitation is part of your agenda,” said Catingub.

Earlier this month, the city government has shown the flowers bloom along Osmeña Boulevard.

Catingub said that COVID-19 studies have found viral shedding in stool.

“One study showed shedding in stool in 70.8 percent of patients,” she added.

Aside from respiratory tract samples, nasopharyngel swab, oropharyngeal swab, sputum, and all types of bronchoscopic samples, blood and bloody samples and tear drops and conjunctival discharges, feces and anal swabs are also high risk in virus, although transmission of the virus is still being studied.

Catingub, however, said, this has been a problem in the said area even when she was still a medical student.

“The city government should take this period as an opportunity to clean up places frequented by pedestrians and we should also be responsible for maintaining sanitation of our homesteads. Everyone has to make an effort to fight this,” she said.

A few hours after Catingub posted her concern on social media, Department of Public Services Head John Jigo Dacua said they will immediately take action on the concern and will coordinate with the city’s anti-mendicancy head to look into the street dwellers staying in those areas.

Dacua, in a separate interview with The FREEMAN, said they have been regularly cleaning the area.

“Pirmi man na natong gihinluan diha, pero nagproblema ta karon kay ang atong focus naa man gud sa mga BIC, medyo nakaligtaan nato,” said Dacua.   GAN (FREEMAN)