DOH prepares Cebu City for reopening of businesses, official says

The Department of Health is preparing Cebu City, which is currently under the enhanced community quarantine, for a possible reopening of businesses, Undersecretary Leopoldo Vega said.

In a press briefing on Thursday, Vega said the positivity and mortality rates in the city are improving as they showed a decreasing trend due to the ECQ implementation.

“Ang aming pine-prepare dito sa Cebu ay ‘yung possibility na mag-open na naman ang economy at kailangan ang health care system dito ay may capacity,” Vega said.

“Dapat sila ay naka-network sa both private and public hospitals para mabigyan ng proper referral ang mga patient na nangangailangan ng medical attention,” he added.

He said DOH had a meeting with Cebu City hospitals to advise them the standard allocation of hospital beds for COVID-19 cases, which is 20 percent with a 10 percent allowance in case of surge of patients.

But for the biggest referral center for COVID-19 in the city Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC), DOH advised the hospital to allocate more than the standard allocation.

“Aming sinasabi sa administration ng VSMMC ang dapat ay more than 30 percent ang kanilang allocation of beds,” Vega said.

“Ang kanilang strategy ay dapat i-increase to about 50 to 60 percent ang COVID-19 wards nila to accommodate the surge,” he added.

Asked if the improvement in Cebu City’s COVID-19 situation means a more relaxed quarantine classification like modified ECQ, Vega said it is still early to tell.

He said the matter will be discussed with the Inter-Agency Task Force.

“Kapag mag-progress 'yan, magde-decrease lahat ng metrics na nag-i-improve ang Cebu City, iyan ay pag-uusapan sa IATF whether to downgrade Cebu City to GCQ (general community quarantine)," Vega said.

On Wednesday, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said Cebu City will remain under ECQ, citing the increase in cases and short doubling time.

As of Tuesday, Cebu City recorded a total of 7,015 cases of COVID-19, of which 3,852 are active. —LBG, GMA News