Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte on Wednesday encouraged residents who attended the recent feast of the Black Nazarene to undergo swab testing.

Belmonte said the city government is offering a free swab test as part of efforts to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).

“Hindi natin puwedeng isantabi ang posibilidad na nagkahawahan dahil sa dami ng dumalo. Mabuti nang makasiguro upang hindi natin mahawaan ang ating pamilya at mga kasama natin sa komunidad (we cannot set aside the possibility that many individuals may have contracted the disease because of the number of attendees. It’s better to be safe so that families will not get infected with the virus),” Belmonte said.

She also called on individuals who might be feeling some Covid-19 symptoms like fever, flu, and cough after attending the said event in Manila to have themselves checked.

Meanwhile, netizens expressed agreement with Belmonte.

“Mas mabuti naman talaga, para makasiguro na walang nakuhang virus sa mga nakahalubilo nila nung fiesta ng Quiapo para na din hindi nila maikalat pa sa iba kung sakaling meron na sila (It is really better so we can be sure that nobody among those who attended the Quiapo fiesta contracted the virus so they won’t spread the disease),” said Carlos Kurt Felix in a post.

Manila Mayor Francisco ‘Isko Moreno’ Domagoso earlier said about 400,000 devotees flocked to Quiapo for the Feast of the Black Nazarene on Jan. 9.

Despite the number, Domagoso said minimum public health safety protocols were followed.

However, Belmonte said she doesn’t want to take chances and has even requested the Manila Police District (MPD) to furnish the QC government with a list of devotees with addresses in Quezon City based on the health declaration forms submitted to them.

She said once she gets the list from the MPD, it will be forwarded to barangays for proper monitoring.

Belmonte said barangay officials will then endorse their residents to the nearest Covid-19 testing centers for swab test.

Another netizen, Rico Manuel, called on Black Nazarene devotees not to take the call of Belmonte negatively.

“Wag sanang masamain ng ating mga deboto ang panawagang ito ng ating pamahalaan, para din naman ito sa atin, para lang matiyak na hindi tayo nakakuha ng virus nung nakaraang Traslasyon (I hope the devotees will not resent this call on them as this is for our own good. Just to make sure that we did not contract the virus),” he said. (PNA)