The Department of Health (DOH) in Central Visayas said it supports the decision of President Rodrigo Duterte to place the region under a modified general community quarantine (MGCQ) status until end-October.

On Monday night, Duterte announced that Metro Manila and other areas in Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao will be under GCQ, with the rest of the country under MGCQ, including localities in Cebu and its neighboring provinces.

Dr. Mary Jean Loreche, DOH-7 chief pathologist and spokesperson for Covid-19, on Tuesday said in a message sent to the media that if Region 7 will be placed under MGCQ for the second month after Sept. 30, “it will be good” for the residents who continue fighting the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).

The current risk classification of the region, which started on Sept. 1, is “the most lenient form of community quarantine,” Loreche said.

She said the MGCQ status “has allowed us to gradually reopen the economy thus businesses and other sectors are already allowed to operate.”

Government agencies in Central Visayas, including the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), are very strict in imposing the minimum health and safety standards to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

Assistant Secretary Asteria Caberte, regional director of DTI-7, has been inspecting establishments to ensure compliance with the mandatory wearing of face mask and face shield, limiting foot traffic, disinfection, and physical distancing, among other protocols.

Loreche said the current quarantine status in Cebu and other provinces in Central Visayas “gives us more time to slowly adjust to the new normal”.

“Until such time that each member of the community (has) embraced the new normal protocols like face masks, face shields, hand washing, physical distancing making these health standards very much a part of one’s daily routine, we cannot speed up our transition to the almost pre-Covid era,” she said. (PNA)