NO TO LOCKDOWN. Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia on Saturday (Feb. 20, 2021) thumbs down recommendations to place Cebu again under a strict lockdown. Garcia made the remark following reports of new mutations of Covid-19 found in samples taken from Cebu patients. (Photo courtesy of Cebu Provincial Capitol PIO)
CEBU CITY – Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia on Saturday strongly opposed recommendations to put the province on lockdown again amid the rising cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
This developed after some medical consultants of the Department of Health (DOH) recommended placing Cebu again under stricter quarantine following reports of new mutations of the virus suspected to have originated here.
The governor also found it strange that the recommendation came after her declaration last week to open Cebu’s tourism industry to the rest of the country.
“Don’t mess with us. We can take care of ourselves. I will not and never again accept a lockdown. I’ll fight for Cebu and the Cebuanos because Cebu is moving on and moving forward,” Garcia said in a press statement.
DOH-7 chief pathologist Dr. Mary Jean Loreche said what the Philippine Genome Center (PGC) found in the samples taken from Cebu patients earlier suspected to have the UK variant were mutations of the SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19.
These mutations, Garcia pointed out, had shown “interesting characters worth further investigation.”
She said mutations are normal as the virus’ genetic code changes when it enters its host. Mutations can either die or survive depending on the host's immunity or susceptibility.
Garcia said these medical consultants of DOH, whom she declined to name, recommended stricter quarantine measures or reverting to the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) status for Cebu, which would bar Cebuanos from traveling outside or visiting Manila or other areas.
She wondered why these recommendations were raised at a time when Cebu is opening up tourism to the rest of the country.
The provincial government is bent on reopening tourism to all Filipino travelers, further easing the requirements to enter the island.
“We had gone through ECQ already. But did that result in zero Covid? Lockdowns don't work. Well, it works against the economy. The economy will be the one to suffer, which affects the poor,” she said in a mix of English and Cebuano.
Garcia also decried the recommendation that Cebuanos will not be allowed to travel outside.
It is a good thing though, she noted, that DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III overruled the recommendations after the regional DOH here strongly objected to the proposal. (PNA)
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