If you live in Cebu City and Mandaue City, you still have to stay home after all.
Cebu City and Mandaue City will not be downgrading their coronavirus restrictions. Instead, the two Metro Cebu cities will remain under an enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), as per Resolution No. 37 of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases, dated May 15.
Cebu City was originally scheduled to transition to a modified ECQ while Mandaue City was expected to change to a general community quarantine on May 16. Local governments of both cities along with a third, Lapu-Lapu, earlier filed a petition to the IATF asking to keep their areas under the stringent rules of an ECQ.
"The most effective way to flatten the curve is to test, trace, and treat. We are still in the early stages of testing and tracing, and we maintain our stand from day one that until and unless our constituents are tested, we should not ease the restrictions," said a joint statement issued by Mayors Edgardo Labella of Cebu City, Jonas Cortes of Mandaue City, and Junard Chan of Lapu-Lapu City. This comes after Cebu City overtook Quezon City for the highest number of confimed COVID-19 cases on May 10. The Cebu Capital has 1,544 confirmed cases as of May 15.
Meanwhile, the IATF resolution also elevated quarantine restrictions in other areas. Initially, only the National Capital Region and Laguna—along with Cebu City—were meant to move to a modified ECQ. Resolution No. 37 tags the following Central Luzon areas as high-risk and will also be placed under modified ECQ:
- Bataan
- Bulacan
- Nueva Ecija
- Pampanga
- Zambales
- Angeles City
