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CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu City saw a rise in the number of new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in the past few days but where did these infections come from?
The city’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC), in a press conference on Monday, November 16, revealed the top sources of new COVID-19 patients, and among them were gatherings such as parties and drinking sprees.
Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella, EOC czar and Councilor Joel Garganera, and Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu met on Monday to discuss the recent spike in new coronavirus patients here.
Garganera, for his part, cited the factors that health experts found out that could have contributed to the rise.
These included gatherings, workplace transmission, and pregnant women giving birth in hospitals.
Cimatu, who is the chief implementer of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID) in the Visayas, said he visited Cebu City on Monday to check on the outbreak’s situation here.
“We had to address the cause of the spike. We have to find out what caused it, and what actions should we undertake,” said Cimatu.
From November 10, Cebu City has logged double-digit in the daily number of new COVID-19 patients, leading its number of active cases to jump back to 292, as of November 15, 2020.
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But in the meantime, Labella assured the public that the city’s coronavirus outbreak was still under manageable levels and that local officials, through the EOC, were doing their best to contain it.
“Relatively, it is not as worse as other places. It is still manageable as far as the city is concerned,” said Labella.
However, the mayor reiterated their reminders for Cebuanos to continue to observe minimum health standards and never be complacent.
“We should never be complacent. This is why we’re appealing to the public to always follow health protocols. The virus is still very much around,” Labella added.
RELATED STORY: Labella closes Cebu City borders for non-essential entry, q-pass coding returns on Nov. 16
Cebu City has been under modified general community quarantine (MGCQ) which is expected to last until November 30, 2020. /dbs