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CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia once again called on the public to reconsider their ‘unreasonable fear’ towards the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
And in her regular press conference on Friday, June 12, Garcia said that there were more dengue cases than COVID-19 in Cebu province.
Citing data compiled by the Provincial Health Office (PHO), Garcia has announced that there are 1,510 patients in the province, who have been downed by dengue fever, a mosquito-borne tropical disease, from March 23 to June 11.
The first COVID-19 case in Cebu was reported last March.
Statistics presented during the press conference last Friday also showed that the morbidity ratio of dengue in the province is at 468 per 1 million people.
In the same period, Garcia also said they recorded 724 patients with pulmonary tuberculosis that had a morbidity ratio of 224 per 1 million.
As of June 11, the Capitol has documented a total of 340 COVID-19 cases with a morbidity ratio of 105 per 1 million people.
The governor, who has been vocal in her stance that the coronavirus, ‘is not as deadly as projected’, explained that she intended to provide data on all other diseases in the province if it meant ‘managing the fear’ of COVID-19.
READ MORE: COVID-19 not as deadly as projected––Cebu gov
“We have to compare all these data in order to have a sense of proportion and a sense of perspective… we have to manage this fear,” said Garcia in a mix of Cebuano and English.
“I think it’s only appropriate to examine our position and stance before and after getting all of these (data), we have to read, analyze, and we also have to examine our conscience as well,” she said in Cebuano.
COVID-19 in Cebu province
Of the 340 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Cebu province as of June 11, 220 remained as ‘active cases’, figures from the PHO showed. Majority of the 340 coronavirus patients or 143 of them are asymptomatic while 58 are under hospital care.
COVID-19 recoveries, on the other hand, have climbed to 87. Deaths stood at 33.
However, Garcia said 27 of the 33 of these deaths had been tagged as due to ‘incidental’ which meant that the coronavirus infection was not the cause of the deaths.
READ MORE: DOH 7: Majority of COVID-19 deaths in Central Visayas ‘incidental’
Figures from PHO, on the other hand, showed that tuberculosis remained as the disease with the most number of infected individuals in the province with 2,777 patients since January 1. It was followed by dengue with 2,494 cases.
Tuberculosis, a bacterial infection in the lungs, claimed 31 lives while dengue was the cause of death of 12 more people.
Garcia wants MGCQ
In the same live press conference, Garcia said the province could not afford to endure another round of lockdowns that prompted several business establishments, particularly those belonging in the tourism industry, to cease operations.
Garcia has also pushed for the entire province to further ease its community quarantine restrictions if it meant reviving its economy.
“It’s time to move on. We have to move on,” she said.
The Capitol has already submitted its appeal last Thursday, June 11, to downgrade its GCQ status to a modified one./dbs
READ MORE: Regional IATF ‘favorably endorsing’ Cebu province’s appeal for MGCQ – Gwen