THE surge in new COVID-19 cases these days is becoming more manifest in the island Province of Cebu as well as in its various cities.
According to a report on television quoting figures from the Department of Health, the deaths due to the virus were close to 400 within the last twelve days up to the other day. It is a record indeed that can be cause for alarm. It looks like the place has been a victim by the arrogant stand of its governor in trying to come up with her own rule in handling the pandemic in the area. And her rule is in contradiction with those that were issued by the national task force against COVID.
Now the arrogance is on her. Woe unto the people of Cebu.
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Somehow, the situation in that province these days puts the credibility of Vice President Leni Robredo to a test. Was it not that she got the goat out of Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio for her statement that the mayor of Davao should learn a lesson from how Cebu is dealing with the pandemic?
In effect, Mayor Sara was proven right when she admonished the Vice President that she has no moral authority to give that kind of advice to her (Sara) because she has no idea of the real situation in Davao City during that time when there was an apparent surge in Davao.
But of course, we are not encouraging our Mayor Sara to get back at VP Leni. She’ll get nothing if she does so. After all, what is happening in Cebu is proving the Vice President wrong in her admonition to the Davao City chief executive.
Instead, we are pushing for the lady mayor to concentrate on all the things she is doing now to obviate the possibility of the surge recurring in her city.
For example, she must check on the veracity of reports that some of the front liners in the barangays are not really that serious in implementing the various health protocols now in place in the city.
We learned recently that a newly arrived OFW who was supposed to be quarantined inside a barangay quarantine facility managed to get out of the place and bonded with his relatives and friends. They had a drinking session, and sadly, one of those who he was drinking with was a barangay functionary supposedly tasked to have the quarantine implemented to the letter.
This may be one weak area in the strategy employed in fighting the virus in this city. Yes, again taking as an example the one we earlier cited here is that, while the subject OFW had been quarantined for two weeks in a facility at Subic (or was it at Clark?) between the time that he left the facility in Luzon up to the time that he was able to take a flight for Davao and finally back home, his negative result in the swab-test being conducted on him is not a guaranty that his body system did not get any of the deadly virus.
Thus, we believe that it should have been imperative for the one in-charge of the barangay quarantine facility to make sure the returning OFW would not have any chance of getting outside and interact with other people. Our fervent wish, therefore, is for that particular returning OFW not to have been infected with even a single virus from the time he left Subic (Clark) to the NAIA, then to Davao City, and to the barangay quarantine site. If by accident he had been, then those who he had in close contact with should better be praying hard that they have enough immunity to stop the virus on its track.
It is on this aspect of the overall Davao City strategy to curb the surge of the virus that people are hoping Mayor Sara will put more emphasis and devote her time looking into. We are certain that her handling of the pandemic in this part of the country may make or unmake her a suitable candidate for the Presidency. That is, if she really will decide to run in the forthcoming May 22 elections.
