Cagayan de Oro mayor thumbs down lockdown

BUSINESS AS USUAL In the absence of an enhanced community quarantine in Cagayan de Oro City, public transportation remains available, such as these “habal-habal” (motorcycle taxis) whose drivers openly wait for passengers at a corner in Barangay Puerto of the city. —FROILAN GALLARDO

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Misamis Oriental, Philippines — Against the advice of local medical practitioners, Mayor Oscar Moreno refused to impose a lockdown on Cagayan de Oro, a measure taken by local governments surrounding the city and in many parts of the country to help flatten the curve and prevent a surge of new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases.

Moreno said placing the city under lockdown, or enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), would adversely affect its economy, citing the city’s position as Northern Mindanao’s regional hub.

But physicians are getting worried over the lack of enough hospital isolation beds, ventilators, personal protective equipment (PPE) and other medical equipment.

The city has one confirmed COVID-19 patient who is recovering, according to its health office. So far, there had been 38 persons under investigation (PUIs), 32 of whom completed quarantine, and 1,337 persons under monitoring, 1,318 of whom also completed quarantine.

Associations of medical professionals who formed the group Cagayan de Oro People’s Forum have petitioned the city government to impose an ECQ to control the movement of people as a strategy to curb the spread of the virus.

Groups leading the petition included the Cagayan de Oro chapters of the Philippine Society of Pathologists, Philippine Pediatric Society, Philippine Obstetrical and Gynecological Society, Philippine Academy of Family Physicians, Philippine College of Surgeons and the Philippine Society of Anesthesiologists.

Dr. Meneleo Navarro, who manages the Aray ko, Doc clinics in the city, said in a radio interview it was high time for the city government to impose the lockdown because given the inadequacy of health facilities, deaths would likely spike should there be a surge of cases.

“We, the doctors, are worried because we don’t have adequate supply of [PPEs], especially at [Northern Mindanao Medical Center, or NMMC]. Until when will these supplies last?” Navarro said.

Navarro feared that if Moreno would not raise the city’s quarantine level to ECQ, more residents might succumb to COVID-19 if hospitals would be inundated with cases beyond their capacity.

Economic impact

But Moreno said imposing the lockdown would have a grave impact on its economy.

While he said he appreciated the suggestion of the medical practitioners, the mayor reminded them that under the guidelines of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, he could not order the lockdown without guidance from the Department of Health (DOH) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).

But other local governments in Mindanao have locked down their localities after coordinating with the DOH and the DILG.

NO DISTANCING People sit on a waiting area close to the main gate of the Northern Mindanao Medical Center along the Provincial Capitol Road in Cagayan de Oro City without observing social distancing. —JIGGER JERUSALEM

Mayor Sara Duterte of Davao City, for instance, which recorded the highest number of COVID-19 patients outside of Metro Manila at 57, has imposed an ECQ that closed its borders to neighboring areas and required nonfood industries to suspend their operations for 15 days effective on April 4.

In IATF Resolution No. 2, localities implementing the ECQ will have to suspend transport movement, regulate the delivery and distribution of food and essential health services, and heighten the presence of uniformed personnel to enforce quarantine procedures.

Irreparable damage

“Technically speaking, this will virtually paralyze the city,” Moreno said.

“I am sure you are all aware of what is happening now in Metro Manila and even in many parts of Luzon,” he said. “I hope we can even have a glimpse of the severe economic impact that has resulted in these areas,” Moreno said in his April 3 letter to the group.

He said he hoped to prevail over the virus without imposing a lockdown.

“The repercussions [of the lockdown] would bring about serious irreparable damage,” he said. “I want to emphasize, however, that we are committed to save lives; and this is nonnegotiable,” he told the doctors.

He said Cagayan de Oro remained the host of the region’s hospital for a COVID-19 patient, referring to NMMC, where the city’s first COVID-19 case is now confined.

“This is a responsibility that we have to live and deal with. Avoiding this duty will cause more harm to everybody,” Moreno said.