WARNINGS. The post Sunday, August 8 on the Facebook page of Lapu-Lapu City disaster management chief Nagiel B. Banacia had little variation from the same theme it has drummed into the public mind in the past two weeks: the threat of Covid and the reality of death.
The first line said: “There is so much death every day.” And Banacia wrote they expected more because of “dozens of calls asking for help” and the would-be patients complained of “difficulty of breathing.”
With the “sad, dispiriting” note is the graphic from the mayor’s office reporting that, as of August 7, positive patients confined were 105, of which 16 were “severe and critical” and 89 “moderate, “ and the number of deaths was 74, all of whom, it didn’t fail to trumpet, were unvaccinated.
Banacia’s Sunday post fired a warning, one of several that have appeared on his FB wall during the past few days, when cases of infection in Lapu-Lapuy, along with other cities and the province of Cebu, are being reported in double to triple digits.
Banacia has raised mood flags like “feeling sad.” “drained” or “hopeless,” sometimes with images of death -- the lighted candle, skeleton clad in black -- or such dire lines as “Oxygen pa karon, sunod sementerio nasad ang problema.” Last August 3, in put-on or real desperation, complained, “I’m so sorry. We are not Superman.”
Or warned: “...otherwise, front-liners will die in vain.”
His explanation for what others regard as scare tactics: “Knowing our critical limitations, we need to do extraordinary measures.”
THE REAL SCORE. On Sunday, August 8, Banacia told SunStar they are “already overwhelmed” by the number of positive cases. He said he is not scared and has been telling co-workers, particularly city health personnel and contact tracers, not to be afraid.
The rise in cases reflects the situation in the community, he said.
From the number of cases, “(1) community transmission is confirmed.” “(2) If we fail to control it, our hospitals will be compromised and (3) we will have so many deaths.”
And is this what is happening? “Mao na ni ang nahitabo,” Banacia said.
But he “firmly believes” he “can still manage despite the situation.”
Banacia is officer-in-charge of the city’s DRRMO (long name: Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office). He packs the experience of having managed Cebu City’s disaster management office and its South Road Properties. A former news reporter, he holds master and doctorate degrees in public administration.
HOSPITALS, CEMETERIES. Banacia points to the city’s deficient number of hospitals: only three that accept Covid cases, for a total of 119 beds. Its isolation facility has 300 beds. A second isolation site, the Mactan High School, will add another 300. That’s less than 800 in all.
And its two cemeteries are full: the public cemetery, since October 2020, and the Catholic Church Humayhumay cemetery. A new public cemetery in Olango is still being developed. There are two private cemeteries but the prices are steep, Banacia said.
POTENTIAL SITES OF SPREADING. And there are possible superspreaders of the virus in Lapu-Lapu.
Banacia said, “We have the airport, possible source of imported variant...We’ve got Mepza, the Mactan Export Processing Zone, where workers are constantly moving, from various localities in Cebu... We are a tourist destination. They come here, especially Olango Island. Most of them are not from Lapu-Lapu. Imagine if the entire island is infected.”
SURGICAL LOCKDOWN. He talked of “reboot: ECQ, hard lockdown.”
Banacia said, “Let’s prevent people from moving. Allow us to do our work searching for the virus.” But he wanted the lockdown to be “surgical” or selective because of limited capacity of isolation sites: restrict movement in places where there are positive cases.
A support group they call HRAT or humanitarian relief assistant team does errands, such as securing food and medicines, for families that are confined at home.
MAYOR’S THRUST. Mayor Junard “Ahong” Chan has already dumped the “no-vaccination-no-entry” policy in his executive order that would’ve limited access to markets and shops starting August 25. As of August 6, he was using “libreng lugaw” instead to those who submit to vaccination.
No numbers are given on the current vaccination pace in Lapu-Lapu but Banacia said they used to have the lowest rate among the cities in Cebu: between 300 and 1,500 doses a day.
He said most Oponganons listen to authorities, obedient and cooperative, “unlike others, especially Cebu City residents, who argue (‘makiglalis gyud’).” What could be the cause then of low vaccination numbers in Lapu-Lapu: lack of vaccine supply or deficiency in management? Anyway, the mayor, reportedly on advice of lawyers, adopted the ruse of threatening to ban non-vaccinees, which IATF in Manila quickly stopped.
MESSAGING. Banacia has proposed other measures such as “tele-consult and tele-medicine,” which involves doctors from Lapu-Lapu City Hospital dispensing medical advice by the use of new communication technology.
Meantime, if the surge continues, he may have to continue to alert residents about the consequences of Covid with “recovidas,” other patrols, education campaign – and his spooky social media messages.
At least, he is telling it as it is and at times over-playing it. That could produce more effective results than “downplaying” the problem, as some local government leaders do.