DOH thumbs down lockdown bid for Cebu City

The Department of Health on Friday maintained that Cebu City is still in a "safe zone" and should not be put on lockdown even if the increase in the number of new COVID-19 cases has outpaced the rate of recoveries in the past three days.

Health Undersecretary Rosario Vergeire made the assertion in response to the suggestion of Cebu City Councilor Joel Garganera to have the city placed in a lockdown by the end of the month if the uptrend in new cases continues to surpass recovery rates.

Vergeire stressed that while local government units are given a free hand to decide whether they should put their jurisdiction in lockdown, such drastic measure should only be done after much careful evaluation that is not solely dependent on case count. 

“Bago po mag-lockdown, dapat po may adequate basis. For the last two weeks po kasi, the COVID cases in Cebu City decreased by 23%,” Vergeire said in an online briefing.

“Ang average daily attack rate po nila ay less than one per 100,000 of the population, kaya hindi po ito nagwa-warrant ng lockdown. Ang nakikita po natin, they are well within that range of a safe zone,” Vergeire pointed out.

Aside from the numbers cited, Vergeire also pointed out that critical care utilization in Cebu City is at 24%, which means that the number of COVID cases is at a manageable level.

“Kailangan po natin tingnan ang totality ng sitwasyon,” Vergeire noted.

In mid-June to July, due to rising COVID cases, Cebu City was placed under strictest protocols under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) and modified ECQ—measures that ban public transport and allows half of the public transport to operate, respectively; and both categories prohibit non-essential work. 

Health protocols have been eased since August to allow a percentage of the population to report for work and resume business to jumpstart the economy.

The Philippines has recorded 402,820 COVID-19 cases so far. Of this number, 362,417 recovered while 7,721 died.

The number of active COVID cases is at 32,682. —LBG, GMA News