President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the extension of Cebu City’s lockdown for the next two weeks, but relaxed the restrictions a bit.

Starting Thursday, July 16, Cebu City will shift to modified enhanced community quarantine from the strictest level that is the ECQ.

On June 15, the President reverted Cebu City to ECQ from general community quarantine. The ECQ status was originally to end on June 30, but was extended until July 15.

Under MECQ, stay-at-home orders remain, but outdoor exercise is now allowed if people wear masks and stay two meters apart.

Cebu province, meanwhile, remains under modified general community quarantine (MGCQ), except for Lapu-Lapu City, Mandaue City, Talisay City, Minglanilla, and Consolacion, which will stay under GCQ until July 31.

The city continues to see a high transmission rate of the virus, with 7,685 total cases as of Wednesday evening.

According to the June 29 study by the University of the Philippines, Cebu City and Cebu province still has the highest transmission rate in the country. The UP researchers project that the entire Cebu province, including Cebu City, could hit 15,000 cases by the end of July if the novel coronavirus is not contained.

Duterte has placed Department of Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Roy Cimatu in charge of Cebu’s pandemic response since June 23. 

There have been slight improvements in the hospital utilization rate in the city.

From 72% on average in mid-June, the isolation bed utilization went down to 62% as of Wednesday, Department of Health Central Visayas Director Jaime Bernadas said.

But this was not because critical cases were decreasing, but due to efforts of hospitals and the Department of Health Central Visayas to increase bed capacity. 

The Philippines now has 58,850 confirmed coronavirus cases after reporting new 1,392 new cases on Wednesday, July 15. – Rappler.com