CEBU CITY, Philippines – Densely populated areas in Cebu City are big contributors to the rising number of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases here.
Data compiled by Cebu Daily News Digital showed that double-digit reports of additional coronavirus cases in Cebu City were logged in crowded locations.
Based on Cebu City’s timeline of COVID-19 cases, the biggest number of new patients were recorded on April 22, 2020, with 138, April 17 with 84, April 28 with 71, April 25 with 63, and April 26 with 40.
Majority of the figures reported on these dates are found in heavily populated areas, in which people are often packed close together than usual, and where physical distancing cannot be implemented fully and properly.
On April 22, 123 out of the 138 newly discovered COVID-19 patients were inmates and personnel from the Cebu City Jail, one of the country’s highly congested jailhouse.
It has a congestion rate of over 1,000 percent, according to data from the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology in Central Visayas (BJMP-7).
The 63 new COVID-19 cases Cebu City logged on April 25 was also from Cebu City Jail but in another building – the Female Dormitory Annex.
Read: 63 more from Cebu City Jail positive of COVID-19, total now at 209
Cebu City Jail now has a total of 210 confirmed COVID-19 cases.
The second-highest number of additional COVID-19 cases recorded in the city was on April 17 with 84. All 84 are patients from Sitio Zapatera in Barangay Luz.
Sitio Zapatera is an urban poor community in the city’s uptown area, with over 9,000 individuals residing in houses with close proximity to each other.
The virus, however, has spread to nearby sitios, or sub-villages, in Barangay Luz, infecting more individuals there. Barangay Luz now has a total of 164 confirmed COVID-19 patients.
Similar to Sitio Zapatera, Sitio Callejon in Barangay Labangon is also a heavily populated, urban poor community.
This sub-village alone holds around 94 percent, or 115 out of 122, of Labangon’s total COVID-19 cases.
A total of 496 COVID-19 patients are found in all areas mentioned, which comprised around 89 percent of the city’s tally that has already reached 555 as of April 29. All of them have been placed in total lockdown to curb the spread of the virus to other communities.
The Cebu City Government attributed the increasing numbers to the massive testing and widened surveillance being conducted.
In addition, the Department of Health in Central Visayas (DOH-7) earlier found out that congestion in communities and closed settings are crucial factors in the transmission of the virus.
Other areas in Cebu City where COVID-19 cases are found include Barangays Suba (13), Guadalupe (7), Mambaling (6), Sambag 2 (4), Inayawan (4), Lahug (2), Talamban (3), Calamba (3), two each in Banilad, Capitol-Site, Duljo Fatima, Kalunasan, Kinasang-an, and Lahug, and one case each from Babag 2, Camputhaw, Cogon Ramos, Hipodromo, Kasambagan, and Sta. Cruz. /bmjo