THE photo contributed by the Cebu City Police Office showed quarantine violators, including eight children, who were apprehended in Barangay Tisa on Thursday, Oct. 1, 2020.
They were lined up against a wall, bunched up together as if they had no idea what social distancing was six months into the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.
One had a smirk on his face, probably embarrassed to find himself in such a predicament. Only two looked like they were wearing a face mask.
The children were found playing online games inside an internet cafe.
They were not only in trouble for failing to observe minimum health standards, they were not supposed to be outside in the first place.
None of these would have mattered if the whole world wasn’t facing a health crisis, but they should have known better. Better yet, their parents should have known better. After all, it is their responsibility to keep their children indoors.
Of course, we all know how difficult that can be, especially when you’re dealing with teens. They must have snuck off while the adults in the house weren’t looking.
Then again, if these were my kids I would have made sure I could see them at all times. Heck, if I had kids, I would lock them up in their room and throw away the key because I wouldn’t want them to get infected, which is probably why I’m better off without one otherwise I’d be facing child abuse charges for imprisonment.
At any rate, the eight children, because they are minors, got off the hook. They were sent home by personnel of Task Force Kasaligan, a civilian group formed to help enforce public health protocol.
As for their parents, they, too, got off with a reminder not to allow their children to leave their residences. Anyway, I’m also sure they had their hands full trying to make a living so they’d have food on the table, load for their cellphones and electricity for their appliances.
That leaves the owner of the internet café.
Yes, management should have known not to allow minors inside the establishment. Not only that, it should have complied with the guidelines the City Government released when it allowed internet cafes to open such as the observance of mask-wearing and social distancing.
Then again, it probably had no choice but to accept paying customers because it needed to recoup all the income lost when it was forced to shut down for several months because of the community quarantine.
As for the other violators who were caught playing basketball, I don’t have an excuse for them.