Labella offers P100 thousand reward

CEBU, Philippines —  The Cebu City government will give P100,000 each to barangays that will be COVID-free by November 1 to December 31 this year.

The decision came following the challenge of Secretary Roy Cimatu for Cebu City to be totally free of the disease.

Cimatu has given the city a perfect 10 for its COVID-19 response four months after he flew to Cebu City to lead the enforcement of quarantine protocols following a surge of cases. At that point, the city was tagged as a hotspot of the pandemic in the Philippines.

“This is a challenge posed by Secretary Cimatu, although I am confident that Cebu City will have zero cases. It’s a tall order but we will try our very best to achieve it,” Labella said.

Based on data from the Department of Health (DOH) as of October 23, Cebu City only has 213 active cases from its total 10,205 since the start of the pandemic.

Of the city’s 80 barangays, 43 are now COVID-free. Thirty-one of these are mountain barangays.

The ultimate target is to free the city of the virus but if this can’t be achieved soon, at least majority of the barangays will have zero infections, Labella said, noting that residents are now more compliant of health and safety protocols.

Labella urged residents anew to remain vigilant and to not be complacent even if the city has already flattened the curve.

Dormitories

Meanwhile, the city accepted yesterday the off-site dormitories and isolation facilities from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) located beside the Cebu City Quarantine Center (CCQC) at the North Reclamation Area.

“I would like to underscore the fact that, look at this facility, this speaks of the kind of service that our people deserve, with the strong collaboration and strong coordination within the national government and the local governments. We cannot thank you enough, Department of Public Works and Highways headed by Secretary Villar, through his efforts that he extended to the different parts of the country,” Labella said.

The isolation facility has 16 beds for COVID-19 patients while the six dormitories for medical frontliners has 32 beds. Each dormitory has 16 rooms with double deck beds.

Cebu City Medical Center Administrator Yvonne Cania said CCMC doctors and nurses at CCQC will be prioritized but frontliners from private hospitals will be prioritized once there are vacancies.

The dormitory has its own living room, dining area, kitchen area, laundry area, air-conditioned rooms, restrooms in every room, television sets, desktop computers, and refrigerators, among others.

The isolation and off-site dormitories are part of the P294 million Metro Cebu COVID-19 Quarantine facilities of DPWH.

According to the Philippine Information Agency-7, DPWH has completed 13 dormitories for medical workers, seven isolation facilities for patients with mild COVID-19 symptoms, and three other converted isolation facilities in Metro Cebu.

DPWH also turned over facilities at other sites: The Mactan Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA); Hoops Dome, Lapu-Lapu City; former North Bus Terminal, Logarta Avenue, Mandaue City; DPWH Regional Office 7; South Road Properties, Cebu City; Correctional Institution for Women; Cebu Provincial Police Office, Cebu City; and Apas Evacuation Center, Cebu City. – JMO (FREEMAN)