Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 10) — Metro Manila mayors convened Sunday night, a day after the feast of the Black Nazarene amid concerns over a possible resurgence in COVID-19 cases.
Dubbed by experts as a “superspreader,” the annual Catholic celebration brought together half a million devotees from around the metropolis and its outskirts in what is viewed now as the single biggest Philippine gathering since the Great Lockdown.
City mayors are now out on a mission: Find the devotees and at least check for symptoms. One city will go as far as ordering a mandatory COVID-19 test.
Their clear leads would be the contact tracing forms that the police asked churchgoers to sign before they were allowed entry into the Basilika ng Nazareno on Saturday, the feast day.
“We requested the Manila Police District to give us a report about QC residents who went to Quiapo based on the contract tracing forms submitted,” Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte told CNN Philippines on Sunday.
In Valenzuela, Mayor Rex Gatchalian has begun talks with the local parish and Nazarene groups to identify Valenzuelans who went to Quiapo over the weekend.
“If they did, then isolation protocols will be initiated as well as having all of them tested,” Gatchalian said in a Jan. 10 mobile phone interview.
In San Juan, Mayor Francis Zamora has a plea.
“Nakita ko naman na naka-face mask at face shield yung dumalo base sa aking napanood sa telebisyon. However, just in case na may maramdaman na sintomas, dapat makipag-ugnayan,” Zamora said Sunday.
“Hindi naman ho natin nire-require lahat po ng deboto na magpa-test. Ang akin lang po ay bantayan nila ang kanilang sariling katawan.”
[Translation: I saw from the television that the attendees wore face masks and face shields. However, just in case they are experiencing symptoms, they should let authorities know. We are not requiring all devotees to have themselves tested, but they should monitor their health.]
Local executives gave their constituents the assurance that the coronavirus tests are free.
Chasing people who might have been exposed to the virus during the feast day compounds woes that city leaders already face – a new variant of COVID-19 and an uptick in cases following the Christmas and New Year holidays as testing centers reopen.
“Itinaas natin iyong alert level sa barangay so hindi naman nagkaiba yung sa Black Nazarene. We’re taking it as the same as the surge in the Christmas period, the New Year period, yung possible new strain, tapos ngayon yung Nazareno,” Belmonte added.
[Translation: We raised the alert level in barangays, and it’s the same in the case of the Black Nazarene celebration. We’re taking it in the same way as the surge in the Christmas period, the New Year period, the possible new strain, and also the Black Nazarene feast.]
The common denominator among these cities: They all have set aside budgets for a vaccine.
The cities of Quezon and Valenzuela already signed a deal with AstraZeneca. The mayor of San Juan said the city will do the same soon. The vaccine deals are top of the agenda for the council meeting that started at 7 p.m.
“Magpupulong kami para tuloy-tuloy na planuhin ang paghahanda ho natin dito sa pagdating ng bakuna,” Zamora said.
[Translation: We will meet to discuss plans regarding COVID-19 vaccinations.]
But while mayors check the health of half-a-million devotees, thousands more flocked to Quiapo church a day after, albeit a reduced 15,000 attendance as of 4 p.m. Sunday, according to a tally by the PNP Plaza Miranda station.
Hijos de Nazareno serve as backup to police enforcing the one-meter distance rule. Still, on church periphery, thick crowds negotiate their way out of exit gates and stream out into the reopened Quezon Boulevard now again overwhelming with cars and jeepneys.
In an interview with CNN Philippines’ New Day on Monday, Manila Mayor Isko Moreno insisted that the 400,000 devotees that attended the Black Nazarene Feast followed health protocols. They are also ready to conduct contact tracing and swabbing initiatives in case of an “aftermath” from the event.
“Naturally, the people submitted themselves to follow simple medical protocols, such as physical distancing. The city also gave face masks and face shields to most of the devotees,” Moreno said. “Generally speaking, nairaos naman siya ng may disiplina, pagkahiwa-hiwalay (it was held with discipline, and with people distanced from each other).”
Moreno bared that the local government also signed an “advanced marketing commitment” with AstraZeneca, in line with the city’s vaccination program. At least 60,000 residents have already expressed willingness to get inoculated once a vaccine becomes available, he added.
