To help the government ramp up its coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccination rollout, a hotel in this city has joined other private companies in offering their establishments as a venue for inoculation, according to Acting Mayor Michael Rama on Tuesday.

Rama led other city officials in opening their seventh vaccination site at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel & Casino in Barangay Lahug here.

Hotel general manager Anders Hallden led the ceremonial walk-through of the vaccination site.

“We continue to urge our fellow men in Cebu to get vaccinated because it’s the best way for us to finally put an end to this pandemic,” Hallden said in his message during the simple program.

Apart from the jabs, vaccinees will receive free anti-fever, anti-allergy and anti-acidity medicines as well as snacks and water, courtesy of the hotel management, he noted.

Rama said the new vaccination site at the Waterfront is in addition to the six existing centers, mostly situated in establishments lent by the private sector.

Two of these venues are private schools — the University of Cebu (UC) in Barangay Banilad and the UC Senior High School in J. Alcantara St. owned by Lawyer Agusto Go and his family.

The other three sites are malls – Robinsons Galleria, SM Seaside and Ayala Center Cebu.

The mega vaccination center at the New Normal Oasis for Adaptation and a Home (Noah) Complex is the only site run and funded by the city government.

Rama said these seven vaccination centers are on top of 15 hybrid vaccination teams roaming around the city, especially in the hinterland barangays, in order to inoculate those who could not go to the city due to transportation concerns.

“I see forward and saw it that’s why we have already 21 vaccination sites. We have 15 that are done in the basketball courts,” he said, adding that some teams are conducting house-to-house inoculation for the senior citizens.

During the opening of the Mega Stay In Facility at the Cebu City Sports Center on Sunday, Rama expressed confidence that each vaccination site could administer a combined 1,000 doses per day.

“We can reach herd immunity, guaranteed if everybody will be helping,” he said.

According to the Cebu City government’s “Resbakuna” update, the UC Banilad and Robinsons vaccination sites are now administering first and second doses while the UC J. Alcantara campus and the newly-opened Waterfront Hotel are only for the first dose. SM Seaside is administering only the second dose.

Two of the sites – NOAH Complex and Ayala – are administering the single-dose Johnson&Johnson jabs for the city’s senior citizens.

Meanwhile, towns and cities in the province of Cebu that are experiencing a rise in the number of Covid-19 cases may implement granular lockdowns to contain the spread of infection.

This was agreed upon by mayors and Governor Gwendolyn Garcia during a virtual meeting on Monday afternoon.

All the towns and cities in the province were represented during the province-wide meeting.

“As a matter of general rule, if the households post 10 percent of positive cases, then the recommendation is for a ‘purok’ lockdown,” Garcia said in a mix of Cebuano and English.

Household lockdown is the first line of containment measure, she said.

Mayors will be given the discretion to identify which areas they want to put in lockdown.

Garcia asked local government units (LGUs) to activate their temporary treatment and monitoring facilities (TTMFs).

The governor said Capitol will provide five oxygen tanks, air purifiers with UV light, and other medical supplies to each TTMF.

She said LGUs will hire one doctor as well as two nursing aides or midwives who will be assigned to the TTMF, with the Capitol shouldering their salaries.

Cebu province is under the more relaxed general community quarantine with heightened restriction until Aug. 15. (PNA)