A medical worker places a swab in a vial while testing for COVID-19 a homeless person in Miami, Florida. In the Philippines, particularly in Cebu Island in Central Visayas, the local government units here are gearing up for targeted mass testing to be implemented soon. | AP photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines – The massive coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) testing conducted in Cebu City led for infection cases here to rise 34 times.
Data compiled by Cebu Daily News Digital showed that since mass testing in the city commenced between April 14 and April 15, the total number of COVID-19 patients has increased from 25 to 875 on May 2. This accounts for a growth rate of 3,400 percent within such a period.
As of May 3, the Cebu City Health Department (CHD) announced that the total number of COVID-19 patients in the city stood at 902, with seven deaths and 23 recoveries.
Officials of the city government and health experts from the region attributed the dramatic rise to mass testing being conducted.
Cebu City recorded its first COVID-19 cases on March 27, with 18 patients.
Before the city rolled out its mass tests, CDN found out that the numbers from March 27 to April 13 grew at a rate of 0.39 only. There were 25 COVID-19 cases logged in Cebu City on April 13.
The city has tested over 6,300 samples at the subnational laboratory in Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) as of April 30.
Triple digits in COVID-19 cases are recorded in jam-packed communities and closed settings such as the Cebu City Jail in Barangay Kalunasan.
Of these figures, 332 are reported at the Cebu City Jail in Barangay Kalunasan where over 6,600 inmates are housed.
Barangays Luz, Labangon, and Suba each also logged triple digits in the total number of COVID-19 cases in their respective areas.
Luz has a total of 192 coronavirus patients, comprising 24 percent of the city’s entire tally. All cases are reported in the barangay’s densely populated portions, particularly Sitio Zapatera
The villages of Labangon and Suba have a total of 126 and 124 COVID-19 cases respectively.
In Labangon, majority of the patients are from Sitio Callejon, an urban poor community similar to that of Sitio Zapatera in Barangay Luz.
Meanwhile, most of the COVID-19 patients in Suba happened to be residents living around Suba’s Fish Market one of the city’s vital
In their earlier observations, the Department of Health in Central Visayas (DOH – 7) said areas with closed settings where physical distancing cannot be fully implemented played a huge role in the virus’ transmission.
On the other hand, Cebu City is also expecting another wave or surge in COVID-19 cases as they are about to launch the ‘strategic’ mass testing, that utilizes rapid antibody test kits, this May 6, 2020 together with the cities of Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu. /bmjo