THE national government might step in again and tighten community quarantine restrictions in Cebu City to tame the surge in coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases, retired general Melquiades Feliciano said Friday, Feb. 19, 2021.
Feliciano said this will depend on the Covid-19 situation next week, when the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases is expected to recommend the new quarantine classifications for the month of March.
Cebu City is under modified general community quarantine (MGCQ), the least restrictive form, until Feb. 28.
Cases of infection, however, have exceeded 100 a day since Jan. 28, and surpassed 200 a day five times in February, based on Department of Health Central Visayas (DOH 7) data.
On Friday, Feb. 19, Cebu City posted 192 new cases, higher than the 157 recoveries on the same day. There were two additional mortalities.
Health authorities have declined to link the increase in cases to the virus mutations detected in PCR-positive samples collected in the cities of Cebu, Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu as well as in Cebu Province.
Confirmation of the mutations, however, has prompted some people to suggest that the entire Cebu be placed under lockdown, drawing the ire of Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia.