EOC head: Mandaue has now 3 daily average cases of COVID-19

Lizer Malate, head of the Mandaue City Emergency Operations Center, says the average daily cases of COVID-19 in the city has increased to three. | CDN Digital file photo (Mary Rose Sagarino)

MANDAUE CITY, Philippines — Mandaue City’s daily average cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has risen from one to three.

Lawyer Lizer Malate, head of the city’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC), said last December, the city’s positivity rate stands at only less than 1 percent or an average of one case per day but during the last days of December and first days of January, the city’s average cases of COVID-19 had risen to three.

Last December 20 to 26 for a straight week, the city has not logged any cases of the virus.

Malate said that he could not give a reason on the slight increase of cases as this data were under the city’s contact tracer team.

He, however, said that just like last November 2020, that one of the reasons of the slight increase in cases was due to the long weekend, which was then due to the celebration of All Souls’ and All Saints’ Day.

Malate said he believed that the subtle increase was due to the long holidays from Misa de Gallo, Christmas, and New year celebrations.

“This trend has been seen before. Katu bang Kalag-kalag nakita nato nga after few days nisaka dayun ang cases. The congregation of people really invites the exposure of the COVID virus. Posible tungod kay taas kaayo tag bakasyun, nanguli, nakakatap sa laing tawo,” said Malate.

(This trend has been seen before. That one during the Kalag-kalag, we noticed that after a few days the cases increased. The congregation of people really invites the exposure of the COVID virus. It is possible that because of the long vacation, people went home, and possibly infected other people.)

As of Sunday, January 3, 2021, the city’s active cases stand at 29 while its recovery count is at 2,364 while the death count is still at 172./dbs