THE enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in Cebu City was supposed to end yesterday. But Cebu city Mayor Edgar C. Labella extended it until May 15, 2020 after the number of the city residents infected with Covid-19 has increased tremendously. It is not even certain that by May 15 the ECQ would be lifted since as of Monday 25 more were found positive of Covid19 or, a total of 476 confirmed cases now.
The good thing though is that the quarantine centers of Cebu City, including the former Sacred Heart School for Boys, are now ready to admit corona virus patients. According to Presidential Assistant for Visayas Mike Dino during the inauguration, these quarantine facilities are state-of-the-art in the entire country if not in the Asian region.
The current figure of the confirmed cases of Covid19 could perhaps go higher once the Health Offices of every local government unit, in coordination with the Department of Health (DOH), start conducting the mass Covid-19 testing of every person. Consider that this kind of disease would not show any signs of symptoms until a person seriously ill.
Could the DOH, in cooperation with the LGUs health offices, prevent the increase in number of confirmed cases of Covid19 locally and nationally? The answer, of course, depends if there is now an available cure of this dreaded disease and most importantly is how we, people, respond and cooperate with the government's efforts in minimizing the spread of the virus.
From the news stories and reports of the DOH that we read or hear every day, most of the people hit by the coronavirus are those living in congested areas and those who did not take seriously the early warnings and advises issued by the DOH in preventing the spread of the virus, like physical distancing, wearing of face mask, and regular hand washing with water and soap or alcohol.
Would these stubborn people ever learn? God, bless them for they do not know what they're doing.
I believe that it's everyone's wish that by May 15 the ECQ would be lifted not only in Cebu City but also nationwide so we that could go back to our normal life and put back our economy that was in suspended animation, so to speak, during the Covid-19 pandemic and wherein most of us complained due to the financial and emotional hardship that we're experiencing each day.
In the event that we would be Covid-19 free after May 15, would we be doing the same thing we used to do before the coronavirus reached our shores? In other words, what's the new normal? But from MalacaƱang's pronouncements, the nation would still be under general community quarantine (GCQ) even after the ECQ is lifted.
I could only speak for myself, but I am pretty sure that most, if not all, would agree that pursuing what we have practiced now, like social distancing, wearing of mask especially when sick and regularly observing good hygiene practices, working at home, and avoiding crowd could be the new normal and believe me this would make us a healthy nation.
Of course, the question that begs the answer is our brethren that are considered the poorest of the poor living in squalid condition on how would they practice physical distance when there is no space in their homes to speak of and the sanitation is below the standard. Well, I believe DOH has solutions to their state of health. It's a matter of imposing the laws to the letter and providing them proper wellbeing.