Acting Mayor Michael Rama on Thursday pledged to promote a safe observance of the “Kalag-Kalag” or the All Saints’ and All Souls’ Day amid the city being under Alert Level 2.

Rama said sustaining the gains in combating coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) and in managing the pandemic under the new quarantine alert level systems will be measured through how the city would manage all the cemeteries in the city.

“As we welcome the tact of our national government to place our city and the rest of Cebu under Alert Level 2 that we appreciate as it fits well the prevailing circumstances, we will still adopt what fits better in our Kalag-Kalag directive,” Rama said in a statement.

The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) on Tuesday placed the city under the Alert Level 2, the second most relaxed level of the five-tier alert system which was piloted in Metro Manila, following a downtrend in Covid-19 cases.

Along with other areas in the country, the city has been placed under Alert Level 2 which means that “areas wherein case transmission is low and decreasing, healthcare utilization is low, or case counts are low but increasing, or case counts are low and decreasing but total bed utilization”.

Most of the cemeteries here are run by the Roman Catholic Church while some are privately owned. The city is managing a municipal cemetery.

Rama said the prevailing agreement now is to open cemeteries on November 1 and 2 to vaccinated individuals aged 18 to 65, following the request of the Archdiocese of Cebu.

If such policy would be followed, he said “they (visitors) can visit their dearly departed loved ones for no more than one hour” and all visitors should observe strict health protocols such as wearing face masks and physical distancing.

“Those who still need to be vaccinated may visit on the other days until November 5. They may also take the opportunity to have themselves vaccinated,” he said.

He reminded residents that his order on the “Oplan Puyo” (operational plan stay at home) and the parental-supervised household lockdown must still be followed.

The acting mayor, however, said his executive order will soon be released this week. (PNA)