BARANGAY ISOLATION CENTERS. Undated photo shows one of the Barangay Isolation Centers in Cebu City. Mayor Edgardo Labella on Tuesday (Sept. 8, 2020) said Cebu City government is shutting down 49 of the 53 after the city flattened the coronavirus disease 2019 curve but clarified the fight is not yet over. (File photo courtesy of Cebu City Hall PIO)
CEBU CITY – Mayor Edgardo Labella on Tuesday said 49 Barangay Isolation Centers (BIC) are now closed after the city “flattened the curve” of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
In virtual presser, Labella said of the 53 BICs with a total of 3,052 bed capacity established at the outset of the fight against coronavirus in March, only four remain operational and are still accepting Covid-19 asymptomatic patients.
“We’re glad that we have flattened the curve. But let us not float this, let us not aggrandize these achievements among us in this collective effort of the people, the city, barangay, health, police and military officials,” Labella said.
He said the fight against Covid-19 is “not over yet, we just don’t know if we are still in the middle of this pandemic.”
The Department of Health in Central Visayas (DOH-7) on Monday said the city has 335 active Covid-19 cases, with 90 percent of the 9,692 logged cases since February have recovered from the dreaded virus.
Labella said the 90 percent is even higher than the national recovery rate. Cebu City has 658 deaths due to Covid-19.
He credited the gains in combatting the coronavirus with the decision of President Rodrigo Duterte to assign Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu and retired military general Melquiades Feliciano in Cebu to oversee the government response after a spike in infections detected in June.
The city, he said, was also the first to purchase three PCR (polymerase chain reaction) machines and 20,000 PCR kits for massive testing in May and serve 53,000 individuals through the massive testing, tracing, isolation, and treatment.
“As early as March, we had proven it right. We are not seeing the result of our responses,” the mayor said.
He added that the city also implemented the three-pronged approach in the fight against Covid-19 which is response, relief, and recovery with PHP1 billion budget for distribution of assistance to quarantine-hit village residents.
Apart from the 53 BICs, the city also opened four quarantine centers -- the Cebu City Quarantine Center at the North Reclamation Area, Project Noah at the South Road Properties, the Sacred Heart School Bayanihan Field Center and the EIC Convention Center Bayanhan Field Center -- for mild and moderately symptomatic patients.
The city government also established five cluster clinics spread out to cater for village residents who had manifestation of Covid-19 symptoms and sought for referrals for swab testing and isolation.
Labella said when the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) placed the capital in strict community quarantine classifications, Cebu City Hall was able to assist barangays for their relief goods distribution and purchase of protective equipment. (PNA)
