Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 1) — Three cities in Cebu province are asking for reconsideration after being placed under the second strictest lockdown status due to a rapid rise in COVID-19 cases.
Malacañang has already announced that Cebu province will be downgraded to GCQ status “with heightened restrictions” until Aug. 15. However, the cities of Cebu, Lapu-Lapu and Mandaue, which are administratively independent from the province, will remain under MECQ.
The three cities have filed their appeals to the country’s pandemic response task force.
In his letter dated July 30, Cebu City acting Mayor Michael Rama noted the negative economic impact the more stringent lockdown would have on their citizens and economy.
“Being the center of trade, commerce, and industry in the Visayas and Mindanao, it may not be handy to disturb its recovering economy which supported not only the city and its constituents but the entire region outside of Luzon,” Rama said.
He said they have already implemented measures to handle the fast-rising number of infections, including the reopening of more isolation centers to prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed.
Some Cebu workers, especially those in the informal sector, are worried about their livelihood. While some businesses remain open under MECQ, they operate at reduced capacity.
Ellen, a worker at an eatery, hopes the national government will revise the classification.
“It’s better if we’re not under MECQ, because it will really affect our livelihood. We will lose customers,” she said in Cebuano. Ellen added that while she works in Cebu City, she is not part of the government’s social amelioration program since she’s not a resident of the area.
Hotcake street vendor Mario also said he is in favor of a more lenient community quarantine status.
“We will still try to find a way to find money to buy food, [but] it would be more difficult to do that with more restrictions,” he said.
Cebu City’s active cases stand at 2,688 after it confirmed 279 new infections on July 31.
On the same day, Lapu-Lapu tallied 87 more virus-hit residents, bringing its active infections to 1,130. The Department of Health also recently announced the detection of 19 Delta variant cases in the area.
Mandaue City, meanwhile, has 961 active cases after reporting 56 new infections on Saturday.
