Health officers from Cebu City assist in the transfer of patients from Barangay Labangon to a designated Barangay Isolation Center | Photo Courtesy of Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The total number of confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in Cebu City has breached 400 on Saturday, April 25, 2020.
The latest addition were 63 patients from the Cebu City Jail recorded on Saturday. This development brings the total number to 411.
But most of the patients infected with the disease in the city are asymptomatic.
“During the massive testing we conducted, we found out that around 90 percent to 95 percent of the patients are asymptomatic,” said Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella.
These findings prompted Cebu City government to convert at least 18 public schools into Barangay Isolation Centers (BIC) to house individuals with mild to no symptoms of the disease and five of these BICs are already operational.
“This is alarming because asymptomatic ones don’t exhibit signs of the disease. No runny nose, no dry cough, and they can just be anyone walking down the streets,” he added.
As of April 25, there are 411 COVID-19 cases recorded in Cebu City. The majority of these are found in Cebu City Jail (209) and Sitio Zapatera in Barangay Luz (140).
The virus has also reached Barangays Labangon (29) and Guadalupe (7).
City health officers have also started transferring the patients in Barangays Luz and Labangon to the nearby BIC which are the Barrio Luz Elementary School and Labangon Elementary School respectively.
Quarantine facilities
The 200-bed quarantine facility at Block 27 in North Reclamation Area (NRA) is also set to be completed on Saturday, April 25. Construction of the designated isolation site started last March.
Aside from the one in NRA, the city government has recently launched the Bayanihan Field Center at General Maxilom Avenue to house COVID-19 patients with mild symptoms.
Portions of the International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) Convention Center is also being converted into a quarantine facility that can accommodate up to 800 beds./dbs