CORONAVIRUS DISEASE 2019 (COVID-19) ILLUSTRATION | STOCK PHOTO
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Department of Health in Central Visayas (DOH – 7) on Sunday, May 9, 2020, reported 56 new COVID-19 patients that were discovered in the previous day, Saturday (May 8, 2020).
As a result, the total confirmed COVID-19 cases in Cebu now stand at 1,680. The DOH – 7 also recorded four deaths for Saturday, three from Cebu City and one from Cebu province.
“All of them died of severe pneumonia due to COVID-19 and had underlying medical conditions,” the agency stated in their press release issued to the media.
A total of 539 specimens from Central Visayas were examined for coronavirus infection on Saturday, bringing the total number of samples tested to 11,041.
Breakdown of 56
Of the 56 new cases logged in Cebu for Saturday, DOH – 7 found out that 39 of these are from Cebu City, 15 from Mandaue City Jail, and one from Cebu province.
They also recorded another repatriated Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) who has been infected with COVID-19 on Saturday.
There are over 200 Cebuano OFWs who remain under 14-day quarantine in at least three hotels in Cebu City after they have been repatriated and have been left stranded in Manila for several months.
On Sunday, the tally from the Cebu City Health Department (CHD) showed that the OFW who recently tested positive of the virus was from Cebu City.
However, the CHD said in a statement that they were still verifying the specific address of the repatriated overseas worker.
Case fatality rate
While the number of COVID-19 cases in Cebu has continually increased, its case fatality rate, according to the DOH – 7, has remained below the global average of 6.4 percent.
With 21 deaths as of May 9, Cebu island’s COVID-19 case fatality rate remains at 1.27 percent.
The DOH – 7 added that most patients, who succumbed to COVID-19 from Cebu, had underlying health conditions such as chronic kidney diseases and life-threatening ones such as cancer.
Health experts here said that the low COVID-19 death rates would indicate not only widened surveillance but also would serve as a sign that the pandemic ‘is being managed’. /dbs