Cebu province orders 24-hour home quarantine for students, elderly

CEBU, Philippines – Governor Gwen Garcia ordered Saturday, March 21, all students in the province of Cebu, as well as citizens aged 65 years old and above, to remain in their respective houses as part of an aggressive move to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

Cebu recorded its first coronavirus case on Wednesday, March 18. The 65-year-old patient from Mandaue City is recovering, Department of Health Region 7 Director Jaime Bernada had said. 

Garcia said here that the 24-hour home quarantine will be enforced starting Sunday, March 22.  

She asked the local government units to implement what she dubbed as a “24-hour curfew” on Cebu’s students.

“Tanan nga mga estudyante will be under a 24-hour curfew. Diha nalang sila sulod sa balay (All students will be under a 24-hour curfew. Stay inside your homes.),” Garcia said.

Meanwhile, senior citizens would only be allowed to leave their houses when going on medical treatments.

“Ang tanang nga 65 anyos ang pangidaron, dinha nalang mo sulod sa balay. They will also be on a 24-hour curfew except those who need to go to a medical facility aron sa pagpatambal ug aron sa pag-avail sa medical services,” Garcia said.

(All those 65-years-old and above, stay in your homes. They will also be on a 24-hour curfew except those who need to go to a medical facility to get treated and to avail of medical services.)

Because of the strict home quarantine order, everyone in the province is now required to carry identification (ID) cards.

Authorities at checkpoints have been instructed to ask for IDs to make sure the order to remain in their house is being followed. (READ: Coronavirus Outbreak | VISAYAS: Provinces, cities, towns on lockdown)

“Effective also tomorrow, at 3 o’clock (pm), ang tanan nga mogawas sa balay, magdala og ilang kaugalingon nga ID aron pagsuta kun estudyante ba o empleyado. Mahimo sab nga kung wala silay ID o residence certificate, ato kanang i-refine further,” Garcia said. (Effective tomorrow, starting at 3 pm, all those who come out of their homes must bring an ID to identify if they are a student or employee. If they don’t have an ID, a resident certificate may work. We’ll refine it further.)

The Cebu governor also ordered the temporary closure of internet cafes in the province.

The governor also reminded local government chiefs, especially barangay captains, to prohibit any cockfighting in their respective areas of jurisdictions.

“Ako sab ipaabot ang akong mensahe sa tanan nga barangay kapitan lakip na ang mga mayor. Una sa tanan, duna na kitay executive order ug provincial ordinance nga gidili ang cockfighting,” she said. (We will relay the message to all barangay captains and related mayors. Above everything, we will have an executive order and provincial ordinance banning cockfighting.)

She said that authorities recently arrested the chairman of Barangay Kabatbatan in the town of Dumanjug for organizing a cockfight in his barangay. – Rappler.com