By Jel Santos
Makati City Mayor Abigail "Abby" Binay has called on her constituents to do the "Otso-Otso" cleaning habit at their homes to stop the spread of COVID-19.
Makati Mayor Abby Binay (My Makati / MANILA BULLETIN)
“Mayroon po tayong gustong ipauso sa lahat ng mga taga-Makati. Ang tawag po natin ay 'Otso Otso.’ Hindi ho ‘yung sayaw. ‘Yung ‘Otso-Otso’ ho ay ‘yung alas-otso ng umaga, tayo po ay magdi-disinfect ng ating mga bahay at alas-ocho ng gabi, magdi-disinfect ho tayo ulit," she said.
(We want to advocate this to residents of Makati. We are calling it ‘Otso-Otso.’ This is not the dance. The ‘Otso-Otso’ is the conduct of cleaning and disinfection of the house at eight in the morning and at eight in the evening.)
"Otso-Otso" is the title of a popular dance song from 2004 performed by Bayani Agbayani and composed by Lito Camo.
Binay said business establishments in the city which are still operating are enjoined to practice the disinfection habit.
“Let us clean our common areas, disinfect them well; the escalator handrails, the elevator buttons, let us strictly do this at 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.,” she said in Filipino.
Meanwhile, Binay reminded her constituents that observing proper social distancing is also important in battling COVID-19.
“Please stay at home and do not panic. If you have something important to do outside, always practice social distancing,” she said.
Health experts all over the world have urged people to regularly disinfect their homes and common areas to kill the coronavirus and end the transmission of the disease.
Since February this year, Binay said the city government has been disinfecting public areas as well as the locations of COVID-19 patients in Makati.
Binay assured her constituents that the local government is geared up for the fight against COVID-19 and the City Hall's skeletal forces will always be available to serve the public.