Cebu, Mandaue, Lapu-Lapu cities want to stay under enhanced community quarantine

The highly-urbanized cities of Cebu, Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu asked the national government to extend their enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) until they complete their mass testing, a mayor said Tuesday.

Cebu City alone wants to test a tenth of its around 1 million residents for the novel coronavirus, said Mayor Edgardo Labella.

The city, which lies beside Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu, has so far screened some 10,300 people. Around 1,660 of them, including some 300 inmates, tested positive, were asymptomatic, and isolated, he said.

"Hindi talaga puwedeng magkumpiyansa tayo. Jointly with Mandaue City and Lapu-lapu City, naghingi kami ng consideration na mag-enhanced community quarantine pa kami," Labella told DZMM.

(We can't be smug. Jointly with Mandaue City and Lapu-lapu City, we asked for consideration to keep our enhanced community quarantine.)

From May 16 to 31, Cebu City will be under a "modified lockdown" that will allow select industries to operate at 50-percent capacity.

An inter-agency task force recommended Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu to be placed under general community quarantine from Saturday.

• Modified, enhanced, general quarantine: What's the difference?

DZMM, May 13, 2020