PR
CEBU CITY (21 JULY 2020) — Environment Secretary and Cebu overseer Roy Cimatu is optimistic that the city will be placed under general community quarantine by the end of the month.
This was the upbeat assessment made by Cimatu as he and other Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) officials met with members of the local business community here on Tuesday.
During the meeting, the head of the government’s coronavirus response in Cebu said the IATF and the National Task Force Against COVID-19 are implementing all possible measures to address the health situation in the city and breathe life into its economy.
The dialogue also provided the IATF and business owners an opportunity to share best practices and recommendations on how the city can best move forward in anticipation of a transition to a more relaxed community quarantine.
“We are making progress now because of contact tracing. I am expecting na bababa (ang cases sa Cebu City) by next week. So, hopefully by the end of the month, we’ll go down to GCQ (general community quarantine),” an upbeat Cimatu said.
Felix Taguiam, president of Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, expressed optimism with the IATF’s positive outlook despite the current state of the city’s economy which has been severely affected by the pandemic.
“Most of the business owners in the City are traders. The Chamber has 391 members, and right now I already received 92 requests for closure,” Taguiam said.
“What you said, sir, is good news. Businesses are now more health conscious and I believe we are better equipped this time (for re-opening),” he added.
Meanwhile, retired MGen. Mel Feliciano, who is assisting Cimatu in Cebu, said the IATF will review the “Project Balik Buhay,” a joint initiative of the Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas (OPAV), Department of Health (DOH) Region VII, local government units in Cebu, and the private sector.
The project aims to “gradually re-open the community through a calibrated, scientific, and evidence-based transition from ECQ (enhanced community quarantine) to GCQ.”
“We will meet with the business sector to explore how the IATF can integrate this program into our policy direction, so that the needs of the communities, especially the workers whose jobs were greatly affected by the pandemic, can be addressed,” Feliciano said.
