Gealon: Mass testing is giving City Hall a clearer picture on extent of the infection
Rapid mass testing was conducted in Barangay Tisa, Cebu City on May 7, 2020. CDN Digital photo | Gerard Vincent Francisco
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The continued increase in the number of coronavirus infections in Cebu City should not be a cause for alarm.
Lawyer Rey Gealon, the Cebu City Legal Officer, said that this will instead give the city government a clearer picture of the extent of the infection here and serve as a guide on what needs to be done.
Gealon said that their daily reporting of COVID-19 cases is also the city government’s way of keeping Cebuanos updated on the actual situation here and “not give them false hopes.”
As of Wednesday, May 13, 2020, Cebu City already logged 1,687 cases of the infection, 74 recoveries, and nine deaths. The city continues to top the list of Local Government Units in the country with COVID-19 cases.
Gealon, who spoke on behalf of Mayor Edgardo Labella in this morning’s media briefing, said that the city government is expecting the discovery of more COVID-19 cases in the coming days with the conduct of ongoing mass testings in the barangays.
As of May 13, over 10,000 individuals representing 1 percent of the city’s total population of at least one million had already been tested for the infection.
In comparison, Quezon City that ranks number two in the number of COVID-19 cases only tested approximately 0.1 percent of its three million population.
“For every 1,000 people, we have tested six individuals. We only have 9 deaths among the 1,687 cases. Our mortality rate is at 0.5 percent compared to Quezon City’s 7.54 percent,” said Gealon.
Meanwhile, Gealon is asking Cebuanos to understand mayor Labella’s decision to continue the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) implementation here.
He said that the imposition of the ECQ is helping the city control the further spread of the outbreak.
Gealon also asked Cebuanos to continue to heed government regulations while the city remains under ECQ for their own safety./ dcb
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