Rama wants order as COVID-19 situation 'worsens'

CEBU, Philippines —  Cebu City’s new cases skyrocketed to 308 on Saturday, the second highest daily number since the pandemic hit Cebu in March last year.

The number also surpassed the highest recorded daily cases during the “second wave” back in the first quarter of 2021, when the city tallied 297.

Acting Mayor Michael Rama, concerned on the uptrend in COVID-19 infections, yesterday stressed the need to go back to the drawing board to review the ongoing policies of the city and how they are implemented.

“Everything has to be put in order as the situation gets worse,” said Rama in a meeting with frontliners and some hospital officials, among others.

They agreed to revisit Mayor Edgardo Labella’s executive orders regarding the liquor ban and curfew hours. Labella is currently on a medical leave.

Also being addressed is the city’s need to expand its isolation centers.

Rama said he wants all three floors of the new Cebu City Medical Center to be functional within the week.

A centralized referral system has also been suggested to avoid long queues for hospital admissions.

“We don’t want the case of Litang Abarquez to happen again,” said Rama. Abarquez, then barangay captain of Pardo, died after she and her partner failed to get immediate attention as hospitals in Cebu City were already full.

They ended up getting admitted in a private hospital in Lapu-Lapu City, but it was already too late. They were suspected to have died of COVID-19.

Rama also emphasized the need to augment private hospital staff and address their salary problem, as well as that of CCMC’s nurses.

Additional ambulances are also being prepared as the institutionalization of the Emergency Operations Center is being pushed as soon as possible.

Aside from these measures, the vaccination drive of the city is also expected to continue as more vaccine supplies are expected to arrive this week.

Information drive about COVID-19 will also be conducted in the barangays to remind Cebuanos of its dangers, especially if the minimum health protocols are not observed.

Since the start of the pandemic in Cebu City, the highest recorded daily new cases, according to DOH-7 monitoring, is 353 on June 30 of last year.

With 308 additional cases last Saturday and only 68 additional recoveries, Cebu City now has 2,009 active cases.

IATF Visayas chief implementer Melquiades Feliciano has committed to be with the EOC for this week after putting his focus on the vaccination program, following the sustained rise in cases in Cebu City and the rest of the region.

Feliciano said he hopes that Cebuanos will do away with the non-essential activities while cases are up. —JMD (FREEMAN)