Mayor Michael Rama on Friday said the Sinulog fiesta on Sunday will be celebrated in a simplified manner as grandiose activities including parties and other events which may generate crowd amid the Alert Level 3 status here, are prohibited.

In a presser, Rama said while the city is tightening its response measures laid out under a directive he issued on Thursday night, the celebration for the Fiesta Señor this year will only focus on the religious aspect amid the surge in coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases.

“Bisan pa man sa atong nadangatan (Despite the misfortunes), Sinulog cannot be out of the picture spiritually, socially, and culturally, we will still celebrate our fiesta albeit in a more reflective manner and meaningful ways that would touch others lives,” he said.

As the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) placed this capital city under Alert Level 3 on Wednesday until the end of January, Rama issued a directive tightening response measures against the viral disease.

Rama said in his directive that only those establishments, persons, or activities that are permitted to operate, work, or be undertaken under the alert classification “at an authorized capacity” are allowed.

The mayor reiterated the city’s recommendation for parental supervised household lockdown imposing strict prohibition on family members from roaming around the city without necessary transactions.

With the imminent increase in daily positivity rate, the mayor also advised families to designate a separate room for isolation, even as he acknowledged difficulties due to the absence of electricity in some villages almost a month after the onslaught of Typhoon Odette last December.

He called on city officials to set aside politics so that response measures against Covid-19 and its Omicron variant could be given full attention.

“The political arena may just be around the corner. But let us forget partisanship even set aside one thing to be elected in May and shift our motivation and objectives for the recovery of the whole of Cebu with Cebu City as capital,” Rama said.

He said the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic could be won if every one in the city participates in the preemptive actions set forth by the city officials and health experts.

On Thursday, the city listed 359 new cases, raising its accumulated number of active infections to 1,364, from 87 active cases on New Year’s Day. (PNA)