Cebu City placed on lockdown, quarantine passes suspended, says Año

Cebu City has been placed on lockdown on Tuesday night, a day after President Rodrigo Duterte sent officials of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases to assess the continued alarming spread of COVID-19 in the area.

Interior Secretary Eduardo Año told GMA News Online that quarantine passes in the city had also been suspended.

"Yes. Quarantine passes are suspended and Cebu City is under lockdown," Año said in a text message.

Año said only authorized persons outside residence (APORs) and essential workers were allowed in the streets effective 10 p.m. of Tuesday.

"Magiging very strict na ang implementation sa Cebu," Año said.

Police Brigadier General Albert Ignatius Ferro said the PNP would "reevaluate" the 250,000 quarantine passes that had been issued in the city.

"We will be reevaluating the reasonable quarantine pass per family. It is better that one per family only as per the omnibus guidelines," Ferro told GMA News Online.

Over 4,000 cases

Cebu City on Tuesday logged 30 new cases of COVID-19, raising the total to 4,479 as authorities moved to tighten quarantine restrictions.

The Cebu City Health Department (CCHD) said total recoveries rose to 2,177 after 31 more patients recovered from the respiratory illness, while the death toll climbed to 89 with seven new fatalities.

All new recoveries were recorded in Labangon, while the new deaths were logged in Basak San Nicolas, Duljo, Labangon, Mambaling, Tejero, and Tisa.

The CCHD said there were also 2,213 active cases undergoing treatment or quarantine.

Cebu City still has the highest number of infections nationwide, followed by Quezon City with 3,003 cases as of June 22, according to the Department of Health.

Cimatu in Cebu

Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu arrived in Cebu City on Tuesday after he was tasked by President Rodrigo Duterte to oversee the situation as an "adjunct" of the IATF and stop the spread of COVID-19 in the city.

He was accompanied by IATF officials Interior Secretary Eduardo Año, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, and Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., the chief implementer of the national plan against the virus.

Duterte on Monday night took to task Cebuanos for being too slow in complying with the national government's measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

"Kayong mga Cebuano, huwag sana kayo magalit sa akin. Prangka lang tayo. Mas mabuti na prangka tayo. Pupunta ako diyan sa inyo. Papaprangkahin ko kayo pagdating ko. Ang titigas ng ulo ninyo," Duterte said in Bisaya.

"This is not the first time. This is not the first national emergency na mabagal kumilos ang mga Cebuano. Kung gagalaw naman ang dami pang sinasabi," he added.  -NB, GMA News