52 recovered COVID patients released from NOAH complex

CEBU CITY, Philippines—The New Oasis for Adaptation and a Home (NOAH) complex in Cebu City reported on Tuesday, January 26, 2021, that 52 patients in the facility have recovered from the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). 

The city’s Level II isolation facility reported this after three weeks of continuous rise in the number of new cases in the city. 

As of January 25, the number of active cases nears 1,000. 

The recoveries would decrease the number of cases significantly, which the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) said would also reduce the bed occupancy of the facility. 

This means that the NOAH complex would be able to cater to additional patients. 

This would be good news, especially since the celebration of Lunar New Year is fast approaching. 

Doctor Bryan Lim, infectious disease expert and consultant to the EOC, said the cases are likely to rise with the upcoming celebration on February 12.

Lim said, though, that the rise of number of cases could be prevented by proactive means. 

“For restaurants, require reservations to minimize the crowds. Assign areas outside for dining. Implement crowd control, implement noise control. If possible, no serving of alcohol beverage. Incentivize take out of food, so as to minimize dining inside restaurants. Provide discounts for take out,” said Lim in a Facebook post. 

Lim added that young people must either choose to avoid being in close contact with their elderly loved ones, or avoid going out so they will be able to remain in close contact with their family. 

“[In] November, we had 4 deaths; December, 5 deaths; and from January 1 to today, 12 deaths already. Hospitals are still not full, but our isolation centers are filling up. Now, this is the situation prior to the Lunar New Year. If we don’t do better, then we will be in trouble,” said Lim. 

/bmjo