IATF grants local government's request to place Cebu City under GCQ
By Minerva Newman
CEBU CITY— This city will be placed now under general community quarantine (GCQ) starting June 1.
This was after the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID) decided to approve the appeal made by the Cebu City government to place the city under GCQ, just like the rest of Central Visayas.
According to the Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas (OPAV), the strategic rapid antibody testing by the local government, and the “Project Balik Buhay” (PBB) were the deciding factors that convinced the IATF-MEID to consider and approve Cebu City’s appeal.
OPAV Assistant Secretary Jonjie Gonzales told The Manila Bulletin that no less than Secretary Carlito Galvez, Jr., National Task Force COVID-19 chief implementor, praised the response of the local government units (LGUs) here, and the private sector to the pandemic.
Gonzales added that Galvez visited Cebu last week, and was briefed on the PBB and what the tri-cities of Cebu, Lapu-Lapu and Mandaue were doing, He was also reportedly responsible for lobbying that Cebu City be placed under GCQ during the Friday IATF meeting.