Lapu-Lapu seeks alert level downgrade

MANILA, Philippines — Lapu-Lapu is appealing to the national pandemic task force to reconsider its decision to place the city under the stricter Alert Level 3.

The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases included Lapu-Lapu on the list of 14 areas where restrictions will be tightened from Jan. 9 to 15.

In the Department of Health (DOH)’s COVID tracker, Lapu-Lapu’s hospital utilization rate is at 83.6 percent.

DOH-Central Visayas chief pathologist and spokesperson for the Visayas Vaccination Operations Center Dr. Mary Jean Loreche said there was a mistake in the encoded numbers, noting that admissions in Lapu-Lapu City hospitals are non-COVID cases.

Data obtained by The Freeman showed that Lapu-Lapu remains at low risk along with the rest of Central Visayas in terms of health care system capacity, with a utilization rate of 22.2 percent.

Lapu-Lapu has 20 active cases, 12 of them confined in hospitals and 11 under isolation.

Lapu-Lapu Mayor Junard Chan appealed for the alert level downgrade through the Department of the Interior and Local Government.

He said he hopes the alert level would be changed, noting that they are still busy with their recovery efforts due to Typhoon Odette.

Chan also belied reports that the city would be placed on lockdown.

The rest of Metro Cebu remains under Alert Level 2.

Cebu City logged 206 active cases; Mandaue, 32, and Cebu province, 223.