MANILA - The government will no longer allow residents of Cebu City who tested positive for COVID-19 to go on home quarantine.

Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año said on Sunday that those who test positive will be taken to official quarantine facilities to prevent the novel coronavirus from further spreading.

"Pag naka-home quarantine yan, maraming violation yan at hindi talaga yan maipapatupad nang maayos. Dapat talaga i-extract mo ang lahat ng positive, ilagay natin [sa] isolation facility.

(When they are home quarantine, there are many violations and they really [protocols] cannot be implemented properly. You really have to extract the positive and put them in isolation facilities)," he said.

Año, a member of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Mitigation of Emerging Infectious Diseases, said the the measure will be implemented in coordination with the Cebu City government.

He said this is to ensure that "that Cebu (City) can graduate from ECQ (enhanced community quarantine)."

"In two weeks time ay mapapa-graduate natin ang Cebu at mapaganda natin yung situation d'yan if everyone will cooperate,” Ano said.

(In two weeks time, Cebu can graduate and we can improve the situation there if everyone will cooperate).

Cebu City has the most number of COVID-19 cases among cities and municipalities because ECQ protocols were not being properly implemented there, Año said

"Nagkaroon sila ng isang priority sana na buksan ang economy pero at the end ay dumami yung movement at dumami rin yung contamination.”

(They prioritized opening the economy, but in the end, there was more movement [of people] and the contamination increased.)

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