WHAT can the public expect now that Cebu City has been placed under a general community quarantine?
Well, they shouldn’t be surprised if they see police officers and members of the military manning “health checkpoints.”
They’re supposed to stop you and ask for an identification card (ID). The purpose of this is to prevent people who have no business outdoors from being outdoors.
In other words, loiterers beware. You’re better off staying at home to avoid being a nuisance.
Even then, don’t be surprised if you get a knock at the door from barangay officials asking you questions.
Don’t be paranoid. Unless you have reason to be. They’re supposed to conduct house-to-house monitoring. They want to know how many people are living with you and how old they are. That way, they’ll know who may be susceptible to the disease.
And please, heed the curfew from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. People who have work at these times are exempted. However, they have to show proof. Again, don’t forget to bring an ID.
Of course, I hope all these police officers, soldiers and barangay officials have been briefed on what they can and can’t do.
I expect them to be courteous. Or at least civil. They’re not dealing with criminals but with ordinary people. With that said, they need to be patient. Some people will insist on having their own way. That can’t be avoided. So they will also have to be firm without overstepping their bounds.
I know it won’t be easy. For everyone. But the threat is in our midst. There’s no point in pretending it isn’t. We may not have a single case of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) in Cebu yet, but it’s possibly because there are no diagnostic kits available here.
The last time I checked, and that was over the weekend, swabs from patients under investigation (PUIs) or people under monitoring (PUMs) still have to be sent to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine in Muntinlupa in Metro Manila, the only World Health Organization-accredited facility to test samples for Covid-19.
So right now, I am not stocking up on alcohol or masks. I am buying cold and cough medicines and lots of vitamins and sore throat medication like lozenges and fever reducing medicines. I will do my best to keep my immune system up by getting enough sleep and eating healthy.
Although authorities refuse to use the word “lockdown,” that may be inevitable.
In a day or two, Cebu will be cut off from the rest of the country. Air and sea travel will be limited. No one will be allowed in. Cebuanos can leave but they will have to wait a month to return.
To quote Margo Channing in All About Eve, “Fasten your seatbelts, it’s going to be a bumpy ride.”