Private groups call on Cebuanos to strictly follow health protocols to defeat COVID-19
CEBU CITY – “Hang in there.”
Private entities here have called on Cebuanos to be patient and to unite amid the continuing battle against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
In a virtual press conference on Friday, the groups appealed to the people to strictly follow health protocols that include proper wearing of face masks, observance of physical distancing, and frequent handwashing to ward off the dreaded virus.
“We are calling on our fellow Cebuanos to please take this pandemic seriously. The COVID-19 virus only needs warm bodies to thrive. In two weeks, it will die if it touches none. We are in a war. Let us all rise and fight. Our lives and those of our loved ones depend on how we battle this unseen force,” the groups said.
“We, in the private sector in Cebu, have banded together to raise consciousness and help shape public behavior so we could all, as a community, truly contribute to contain the health and economic crisis,” they added.
If people will not shape up, the groups said the enhanced community quarantine in Cebu City might be extended beyond July 15.
“We have suffered so much over the past four months. Jobs and business opportunities have been lost. People are suffering, especially those who need to work every day to feed their families. No one is spared. We have lost many of our friends already in this pandemic, and some of our frontliners. Many now suffer,” they said.
“Our doctors and frontliners in the medical field are already overwhelmed. Our law enforcers are tired, some of them afflicted by the virus. We ask you to stand in solidarity as a community to defeat the virus once and for all.”
Among those who joined the calls for unity and cooperation were the Cebu City Chamber of Commerce and Industries, Rotary District 3860, Junior Chamber International Philippines Senate Cebu, the University of San Carlos, Chamber of Real Estate and Builders’ Associations Inc., Professionals for Active Citizenship and Transformation, and the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP).
“This is our fight. The best way to fight is for us to stay home. We need to sacrifice in unison, in the spirit of cooperation. We can do what people power truly is. Hand in hand, let us get through this predicament together. We ask you, mga Kaigsu-onang Sugbo-anon, let us do this, truly in unity,” they said.
Fr. Roberto “Bobby” Ebisa, president of the KBP-Cebu Chapter, said the 15 radio stations in Cebu are committed to helping inform the people about COVID-19 and raise awareness on what is going on in the city and province of Cebu.
“We believe our people need to know the real issue and situation,” he said.
As of July 2, the Department of Health recorded a total of 9,237 COVID-19 cases in the entire island of Cebu—6,288 in Cebu City, 1,293 in Cebu province, 881 in Mandaue City, and 775 in Lapu-Lapu City.
Cebu City, where the bulk of the cases in the island emanates, has recorded 195 deaths and 2,612 recoveries. At least 1,581 persons are recuperating in hospitals, while 1,900 others are staying in the city’s quarantine facilities.
President Duterte on Monday extended the ECQ in Cebu City until July 15.
Cebu province, on the other hand, has been downgraded to modified general community quarantine (MGCQ) except for Talisay City and the towns of Consolacion and Minglanilla, which remain under general community quarantine (GCQ).
The independent cities of Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu also stay under GCQ.
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What you need to know about Coronavirus.
For more information on COVID-19, call the DOH Hotline: (02) 86517800 local 1149/1150.
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