Still rising, COVID-19 active cases in Cebu City nears 700

A portion of Cebu City as seen from Barangay Busay

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cases of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is still rising in Cebu City.

The city recorded an additional 60 new cases of the virus as compared to the 21 recoveries, raising the total active cases to 689 as of January 20, 2021.

In the Department of Health in Central Visayas (DOH-7) data released on Wednesday evening, the total number of new cases for the region is at 140 with Cebu City contributing most to it.

Cebu Province also recorded 41 new cases, Negros Oriental recorded 16, Lapu-Lapu City logged 7, while Mandaue City recorded 16.

The total number of active cases in the region has reached 2,049 with Cebu City and Negros Oriental as the highest contributors.

The cases in Cebu City in particular have already drawn the concern of the DOH over the slowly rising cases. The city has logged two-digit cases since the start of the year, and the recoveries have not caught up.

Emergency Operations Center (EOC) deputy chief implementor, Councilor Joel Garganera, said on Wednesday that although the cases are on the rise, the city is more equipped to handle them than before.

The EOC said that the average positivity rate, or the rate of new cases compared to the number of tested individuals on the same batch, has remained fairly around 3 percent.

The hospitals also have enough bed capacity with only 26 percent of the beds allotted for COVID-19 used in the medical facilities.

The same cannot be said for the New Oasis for Adaptation and a Home (NOAH) Complex at the South Road Properties (SRP) where the patients has reached 314, a balloon of more than 300 percent compared to its 49 patients on December 25, 2021.

Excluding the new cases on January 20, 2021, the EOC said that only 21 percent of the new cases are symptomatic. This is a good sign which indicates that less people will likely suffer through or even die from the disease.

Still the asymptomatic patients may have a tendency to be more complacent and unknowingly spread the virus. The EOC recommends the continuous use of masks and shields when going outside or even in the home.

“Mao na bisan pag naa ka sulod sa household, dapat doble imong pagmatngon labi nag naa kay immunocompromised nga membro,” said Garganera.

As for the rise in cases among workers, which comprises at least 61 percent, Garganera said this is due to the testing the companies and establishments have done for their workers.

Garganera assured that despite the rise in numbers, the city is equip to handle these cases.

The only thing the EOC needs is the public’s cooperation to follow health protocols and avoid gathering, so that the new cases would eventually drop and the recoveries would overtake the new infections. /rcg