Cagayan de Oro mayor opposes idea to place city under ECQ
MANILA, Philippines — The mayor of Cagayan de Oro City on Tuesday opposed the idea of placing the city under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), saying it has been classified to be at “moderate risk” in terms of its number of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases.
Mayor Oscar Moreno said the city has only seven confirmed cases of COVID-19, which he said is less than half of the threshold of cases of infection for highly-urbanized cities.
“Big cities with low COVID-19 cases – including some in Metro Manila – all dream of lifting their ECQ. But here, we have a governor who wants to place our city under ECQ without any scientific basis and contrary to IATF’s position. Placing the city under ECQ at this time is a setback, a step backward and would bring more human suffering than it would relief,” he said in a statement, referring to Misamis Oriental Governor Yevgeny Emano.
“Instead of intruding into the affairs of the [chartered] city, Governor Emano should improve the capacity of eight district hospitals in the province,” the mayor added.
Some village chiefs in Cagayan De Oro have also reportedly demanded that the city be placed under ECQ due to COVID-19 cases in the city.
Currently, the Cagayan De Oro is placed under general community quarantine (GCQ).
Moreno stressed that IATF’s data analysis shows that the efforts of the city in curbing the spread of COVID-19 have so far worked.
“As we do our best in containing the disease, we look up to the experts – the IATF – for wisdom and guidance as to the need and timing of going to ECQ from GCQ,” he said.
Aside from promoting physical distancing, frequent handwashing, and other initiatives, the City Health Office is also conducting intense contact tracing and “active” house-to-house surveillance to check potential COVID-19 cases, according to the mayor.
INQUIRER.net is still trying to contact Emano for his comment on Moreno’s statement.
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