Cebu City to transition to GCQ June 1-15

Cebu City will be placed under General Community Quarantine (GCQ) from June 1 to June 15, following an approval from the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID).

Mayor Edgardo Labella stated that under GCQ, more businesses will reopen and public transport will resume operations with reduced capacity.

This decision was made after considering the "Project Balik Buhay" (PBB) initiative, which used rapid antibody testing to assess the pandemic's status.

The PBB conducted rapid antibody testing on 42,654 individuals across Cebu, Mandaue, and Lapu-Lapu cities.

The IATF-EID had previously placed the city under Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ) but supplanted this with a resolution downgrading the risk classification to GCQ.

Despite the downgrade, the IATF-EID directed high-risk highly urbanized cities like Cebu City to monitor health systems and strictly comply with protocols.

Cebu City must also submit detailed plans for city-wide and priority barangay zoning.

As of May 29, Cebu City had 2,144 COVID-19 cases with 27 deaths, and 792 recoveries.