Dr. Jaime Bernadas, director of the Department of Health in Central Visayas (DOH-7) is reminding the public not to be complacent amid the development of no COVID-19 cases in Cebu for the fourth day in a row. | CDN Digital photo Morexette Marie B. Erram
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Department of Health in Central Visayas (DOH – 7) once again reminded the public not to be complacent despite recent developments of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the region.
Dr. Jaime Bernadas, DOH – 7 director, in a canned video interview released to the media, said they were ‘happy but not comfortable yet’ that there had been no new COVID-19 cases, and recoveries had continued to grow.
“In the past four days. we reported no additional confirmed cases of COVID-19, and more recoveries are made. We are happy but not comfortable with these developments,” Bernadas said.
“This is good news but this does not mean we will be complacent with our surroundings. Let’s continue to practice the measures placed by authorities which are proven to help stop the spread of the virus,” he added in Cebuano.
These include, Bernadas said, complying with the mandatory stay-at-home orders.
“Staying inside your homes is a big help not only for authorities responding to this pandemic but also to yourself as this will prevent you from contracting the disease,” Bernadas added.
Statistics for COVID-19
On Saturday, April 4, 2020, the DOH – 7 announced that there were no new cases and deaths related to COVID-19 for the fourth time. This means that the total number of patients infected remains at 34 and fatalities at six.
They also reported two more recoveries, bringing the total number in the region to 10. The two new patients who recovered from the disease are from Cebu City, and Lapu-Lapu City, and both are elderly.
Data from the DOH – 7, and the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) showed that a total of 674 specimens from Central Visayas were tested.
The VSMMC is one of the two sub-national laboratories in the Visayas qualified to carry out COVID-19 tests. It started conducting tests on March 19, 2020.
The other sub-national laboratory is Western Visayas Medical Center in Iloilo City./dbs