THE coronavirus infection in the Province of Cebu and the highly urbanized cities of Cebu, Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu has dramatically went down as shown on Monday's (May 10, 2021) Covid-19 Case Bulletin of the Department of Health (DOH)-Central Visayas compared to Metro Manila and its neighboring provinces. However, this is not the right time for us to put our guard down. Let's maintain our discipline so that the number of infections will further go down.
Per DOH-Central Visayas Covid-19 Case Bulletin as of May 10, 2021, Cebu has 601 active cases with 16 new cases compared to Bohol with 1,143 active cases with new 25 cases. Negros Oriental has 557 active cases with zero new case, while Siquijor has 17 active cases with two new cases.
Cebu City has 639 active Covid-19 cases with 9 new cases, 409 active cases for Lapu-Lapu City with five new cases, while Mandaue City has 293 active cases with eight new cases.
Kudos to all of us for complying with the health protocols, as well as to our law enforcers for ensuring that everyone obeys the laws on health.
The tragedy that now hit India after their huge religious celebration where thousands of people congregate without observing the health protocols suffer the consequences. Millions were infected with Covid-19 and hundreds of thousands died because their hospitals were overwhelmed and supplies ran out. This should serve as a hard lesson to all Asian countries.
The latest instruction from President Rodrigo Duterte to arrest and detain those who do not properly wear the face masks and face shields deserve our support and obedience. The good thing here is that all church leaders have cooperated with the government in complying with the minimum health protocols. They did not force the issue on events like street processions and fiesta celebrations.
I've said this many times and posted on social media the pictures of people who do not properly wear their face mask and face shield that I already sounded like a broken record, but I don't mind repeating the same reminder since I feel that it is also my obligation to help our government on this health matter. I have encouraged everyone to be vaccinated as I already have the first dose since there is nothing to be scared of.
During this pandemic, Cebu is luckier than the rest of the provinces in the country. The businesses in the towns and the cities are opened even while under the modified general community quarantine (MGCQ). This is largely due to the strong efforts of our local leaders, particularly Governor Gwen Garcia, that the businesses were reopened despite this ongoing pandemic and the people have regained their strength and confidence. Despite the criticisms, Governor Garcia's "Suroy-Suroy sa Sugbo," Capitol's tourism program, helped spur the province's economy.
On weekends, the beach and resort hotels in Lapu-Lapu City and in other places are business as usual, although it's not the same what it used to be before the Covid-19 pandemic. I had a short talk with the executive of one of the resort hotels in Lapu-Lapu City that usually caters to foreign tourists during the good times. The executive is contented that they're back on business even though the locals are their primary clienteles.
Even on 50 percent capacity for the resort hotels in compliance with the regulations of the IATF, the management is up and about because their employees and workers are back to work especially in these times of need. Some resort hotels even if they are in full operations, the employees worked on rotation because the bulk of their clienteles come during weekends and holidays.