Cebu City villages implement Sunday lockdowns

CEBU CITY –– The two biggest villages in Cebu City have tightened quarantine protocols amid a rise in the number of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in the locality.

Officials of Barangays Guadalupe and Lahug do not allow their residents to go out of their villages on Sundays to bring down the COVID-19 cases.

Barangay Guadalupe, the city’s most populous village, was the first to strictly implement the stay-at-home order and “Sunday lockdown” in January.

On Feb. 14, Barangay Lahug followed suit after COVID-19 cases reached 144 in 14 days.

Lahug village chief, Hazel Empleo, said only money remittance centers, pharmacies, and gasoline stations could operate every Sunday.

Food establishments can remain open but should not cater to dine-in customers.

“We’ve observed that residents get restless on Sundays maybe because they don’t have work. It’s a time for them to gather, eat and drink,” she said.

Now, she added, only those who have to report for work, buy medicines, and go to money remittance centers could leave their homes on Sundays.

Policemen, Empleo said, were deployed in the barangay to monitor whether or not residents follow health protocols.

In Guadalupe, where COVID-19 reached 146 as of Feb. 14, the police had been instructed to increase visibility in the village during the lockdown on Sundays.

“We have to do something to slow down the spread of the virus in our barangay. Otherwise, it may affect the whole city,” Barangay Guadalupe Captain Michael Gacasan said.

As of Sunday, Cebu City has 2,993 active cases of COVID-19 with 714 deaths, according to the Department of Health.