Cebu province GCQ starts on May 20

Cebu Province is set to shift to General Community Quarantine (GCQ) starting 12:01 a.m. of May 20, eight weeks after the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) was implemented. 

Cebu governor Gwen Garcia said businesses and public transportation will be partially opened and some restrictions will be relaxed under GCQ. Social distancing, temperature check upon entry into any establishment and use of masks and gloves among other health protocols will continue to be implemented under GCQ.

The province was initially set to graduate to GCQ on May 16. Garcia and Cebu mayors however agreed to draft an executive order first. The order will be signed by Garcia and will carry all the regulations and guidelines of the GCQ. 

Under the GCQ starting May 20, the public will be allowed to travel within the province including to and from the islands of Bantayan and Camotes, which are part of Cebu.

Only buses will be allowed to ply their commuter routes. Triicycles will have to carry only one passenger each.

Mayors are “urged to set up their own bus stops as pick-up points for passengers,” said Garcia on Sugbo News.

Quarantine passes will still be required when one needs to go out to buy supplies, medicine and goods for the family. 

While “essential” businesses and establishments will be allowed to open, sports gyms, fitness centers, sports, recreation centers, karaoke joints, cinemas, public swimming pools, cockpits and other leisure houses will remain closed.

Curfew hours will still be in effect during GCQ.

The cities of Talisay and Mandaue will however remain under ECQ. 

Talisay Mayor Samsam Gullas had requested the governor to temporarily hold off Talisay’s graduation from ECQ while the city waits for COVID-19 test results of residents. The city has 10 positive cases as of May 16. Talisay sits next to Cebu City, the epicenter of Covid-19 in Cebu, with Mandaue on the other side.

Mandaue City had earlier requested the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) to allow the city to retain its ECQ status. The cities of Mandaue, Cebu and Lapu-Lapu were granted by the IATF-EID an extension of their ECQ until May 31.