The city government here is reactivating cluster clinics to lessen hospital admissions of mild and symptomatic coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases, an official said on Monday.
Councilor Dave Tumulak said the city will again implement drastic measures amid the current surge in cases that have been utilizing hospital beds.
The Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in the city has observed that even patients with mild to no symptoms are being brought directly to the hospitals, instead of being treated in the clinics covering clustered barangays.
“Kato mga tawo nga adunay gipamati sa lawas adto sila sa mga cluster clinics. Di moderestso sa hospital (Those who do not feel well, you can visit the clustered clinics. Don’t go directly to the hospital),” Tumulak told residents during a radio interview.
He recalled that the city government partnered with the Cebu Medical Society in establishing the clinics serving the clustered barangays to cater to flu-like and respiratory illnesses as well as give free swab testing.
The cluster clinics are in the Pit-os Gymnasium in the north district, Brotherhood Gym in Barangay Basak in the south, San Nicolas-Proper Gym in the west, Tinago Gym in the east and Cebu Medical Society compound in Banilad in the central area.
Apart from the cluster clinics, the EOC is also augmenting personnel for the Barangay Isolation Centers and major patient care centers such as the Cebu City Quarantine Center.
Because of the unhampered entry of non-residents into this city, Tumulak said the EOC decided during their Sunday meeting to again implement strict control in the borders with other areas of the province.
Lt. Col. Wilbert Parilla, deputy chief for operations of the Cebu City Police Office, said in a press briefing Monday that they are eyeing the possible placement of checkpoints to control the movement of people.
He also said the proposal to bring the start of curfew down to 10 p.m. instead of midnight was approved, but the police are waiting for an executive order to be issued before they could implement it.
“Checkpoints play a bigger role in addressing the pandemic. We all know that if we have lesser people in the streets, the lesser chance to have transmission,” Parilla said in Cebuano.
The police official urged establishments suspected of being sources of contagion to strictly impose health and safety protocols.
The Department of Health (DOH)-Central Visayas bulletin showed this city recorded 196 new infections and 121 recoveries on Sunday.
To date, the city has 2,085 active Covid-19 cases.
Source: Philippines News Agency
