THE Mandaue City Government has reimposed the liquor ban and implemented stricter border controls, curfew and prohibition of non-essential public gatherings due to the steady increase in the number of Covid-19 cases in the city and neighboring areas.
Mayor Jonas Cortes issued and signed Monday, July 26, Executive Order 22, noting that under the Local Government Code of 1991, every local government unit (LGU) must exercise the powers granted to them to promote general welfare, ensure peace and order, and preserve the comfort and convenience of their inhabitants.
He said that based on data from the Department of Health (DOH), there has been a steady increase in Covid-19 ases in Mandaue, with 688 active cases logged from July 14 to 20, 2021.
As part of the precautionary and safety measures, he said the liquor ban has been reimposed in all public places within Mandaaue for a period of one month starting July 26.
"A reassessment shall be conducted to determine whether the liquor ban shall continue to be lifted," he said.
Any person, including owners and managers of hotels, resorts, restaurants, convenience stores, sari-sari stores and other establishments are then not allowed to serve or drink intoxicating liquor in any public place within Mandaue City.
Cortes, however, allowed hotels, resorts and other accommodation establishments to serve liquor only for their in-house guests, pursuant to prevailing guidelines from the Department of Tourism and Department of Trade and Industry.
Aside from liquor ban, the EO 22 also stated that the curfew period in Mandaue will now start at 10 p.m. and end at 4 a.m. the next day.
"However, authorized persons outside residence (Apor), those working in BPOs, and other essential industries such as food and food deliveries, health workers and government agencies providing frontline and emergency services are hereby exempt," it stated.
The City Government also limited the movement of all persons to accessing essential goods and services, for works in the offices or industries permitted to operate and for other activities permitted following the allowed operational capacity and age restrictions under the Inter-Agency Task Forces (IATF) Omnibus Guidelines on the Implementation of Community Quarantine in the Philippines under modified general community quarantine (MGCQ).
Also due to the increasing rate of new Covid-19 cases, Mandaue City imposed a stricter border control to mitigate the impact of Covid-19.
With the stricter border control, all persons from any LGUs outside Cebu that are tagged as "high risk" for Covid-19 are required to present a negative RT-PCR test result taken 72 hours before departure from their place of origin, or a negative rapid antigen test result taken 48 hours before departure from their place of origin.
Police, military, Legal Enforcement Unit and other offices have been directed to implement the EO 22, said Cortes.
Violation of the guidelines will be subject to penalty, he added. (Laureen MondoƱedo-Ynot)