EOC eyes MGCQ status for Cebu City after September 30

CEBU, Philippines —  Cebu City Councilor Joel Garganera, deputy chief implementer of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC), is confident the city will transition to a less-restrictive quarantine classification by the end of the month owing to the decreasing number in COVID-19 cases and positivity rate.

Garganera said they are looking at a possible change of quarantine status from general community quarantine (GCQ) to modified MGCQ starting next month.

“Everything is going down, so nag-andam sad mi sa hinapos sa buwan, most likely there will be a change in the quarantine status, so atong ayuhon nga ang transition nato walay problema,” Garganera said.

He encouraged those who are not yet vaccinated to have themselves immunized against COVID-19 as soon as possible and to avoid being choosy with the brands. Regardless of the brand, all vaccines are proven to be effective against the dreaded virus.

“We cannot achieve sa atong gustong mahitabo kung dili ta magpabakuna ug magkahiusa ron,” said Garganera.

Recently, the EOC reported a downtrend in the number of vaccinees in all vaccination centers in the city. Among the reasons cited aside from the misinformation that it will make one a zombie, people also have their preference of the brand. 

Meanwhile, Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said that granular lockdowns may not be implemented across the country yet after September 30.

“Wala po tayong negative reports na nakakalap doon sa mahigit 170 na mga lugar na under granular or localized lockdowns. Pero ito po ay pilot pa lamang po, hindi pa po ito maiimplement on a nationwide pagdating po ng Oktubre,” Roque said.

Department of Health (DOH) spokesperson Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire also clarified that the granular lockdown approach is still being piloted in Metro Manila.

“We would like to clarify, we are on pilot testing here in the NCR and when we are saying we are on pilot testing, we are trying out different interventions that we have identified plus we are reviewing our matrix so that we can be able to have appropriate matrix by the end of this pilot implementation,” said Vergeire.

She said the DOH is regularly reviewing the alert levels and classifications implemented in various areas in the country.

“We have regular meetings with our implementers and also with our data analytics so we can be appraised or be apprised of the progress of this implementation,” said Vergeire.

Right now, Vergeire said, they cannot yet tell whether or not to raise or lower the alert level in the pilot area.

“But looking at how we are implementing it right now, we cannot say yet as to the progress or what should be the next level of alert level because we still need to assess…Kakaumpisa pa lang po nung pilot implementation so, hindi pa po natin masasabi yan,” she added.

Vergeire could not also tell whether the alert levels in the NCR will be adopted in other parts of the country after September 30. — Decemay Padilla, FPL (FREEMAN)