THE Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in Cebu City has implemented stricter rules on workers riding company shuttles.
For one, the shuttles’ windows must remain open, said City Councilor Joel Garganera, deputy chief implementer of the EOC.
Social distancing must also be observed strictly inside the vehicle. Passengers must wear masks and face shields. They are not allowed to eat and talk inside, he said.
Garganera said employees are not even allowed to take phone calls inside the vehicle.
“When you take the phone call, sometimes you put up your face shield. We discourage that during the course of public travel,” he said.
Jeffery Ibones, City Health Department officer-in-charge, also urged workers to avoid talking to each other when eating and when they are not wearing their masks and face shields.
Ibones said the transmission from workplaces to households has now been noted.
On Friday, Aug. 21, 2020, Cebu City logged 39 new coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases.
Ibones said that during contact tracing, contact tracers found out that 15 of the 39 Covid-19 patients came from two households.
Ibones said the carriers were both workers.
Ibones urged the private sector to be strict in implementing the health protocol.
In a previous report, roughly three out of five, or 60 percent, of new infections in Cebu City from Aug. 13 to Aug. 17 were traced to workplaces.
Garganera said he is open to involve representatives from the business community in the EOC.
The city councilor, though, said they have been involving the business sector through the Business Permit and Licensing Office (BPLO).
BPLO head Jared Limquiaco earlier said they were monitoring 50 establishments in the city after their workers were found to have contracted Covid-19. (JJL)