Cebu gives incentives to drivers wearing air purifier necklaces to stop COVID-19

COMPLIANCE A bus driver in Cebu uses a necklace-type air purifier to comply with a directive issued by Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia. —DALE G. ISRAEL

CEBU CITY—The Cebu provincial government has distributed vitamin packs for all public utility vehicle (PUV) drivers who wear air purifier necklaces to stop the spread of COVID-19.

“This is the incentive. We are incentivizing it,” said Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia.

“As I have been saying, again and again, boost your immune system,” she added.

The vitamin packs are good for 30 days. Each pack contains 30 capsules of Vitamin C with Zinc, 30 tablets of Vitamin B Complex, and 30 capsules of Calcium with Vitamin D3.

Garcia said she intended to continue giving the free vitamins to the PUV drivers for the next two months or until the situation in Cebu province becomes better.

In the coming days, the governor said the province would expand the distribution of the vitamins to other PUV drivers in the province, including those from modern jeepneys, whose operators also agreed to purchase wearable air purifiers.

As agreed in the meeting with Governor Garcia, the PUV operators were tasked to purchase the air purifiers for their drivers and conductors. The operators, she said, would have the free hand to choose the brand and make sure of the quality of the gadgets.

Some of the operators have given the wearable air purifiers for free to their drivers, while others offer these under a soft loan.

lzb