Rise in COVID-19 cases in Cebu City results in backlog of extraction of cases

At least 400 recovered COVID-19 patients have been released from the isolation centers in Cebu City. | Photo courtesy of Cebu City PIO

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The rise in Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases is taking a toll on the Cebu City Emergency Operations Center (EOC).

The EOC has reported a series of backlogs in the extraction of the positive cases especially that it has reached 1,783 on February 3, 2021.

EOC deputy chief implementor, Councilor Joel Garganera, said on Thursday, that the backlog began around two weeks ago when the cases began to rise three-digits per day.

There were not enough Barangay Isolation Centers (BICs) open then and by the time the numbers reached almost 1,800, the isolation centers such as the NOAH Complex at the South Road Properties (SRP) have already been filled up.

This despite the constant reassurance of the EOC in the past weeks that the cases are manageable.

The EOC is now planning to open 8 BICs in both the south and north districts to accommodate the rising cases.

“Wala tay problem sa extraction (protocols), ang problema asa man nato dalhun? Maygani na resolve na namo yesterday when DepEd allowed us to use the schools as BICs,” said Garganera.

The EOC is working on this backlog in order to ensure that all positive cases will be extracted. In the meantime, these patients are isolated in their homes, which have been placed under lockdown.

The EOC has admitted to the challenges of the rising cases for the first time since the cases began to rise this year.

Visayas Interagency Task Force (IATF) chief implementor, Melquiades Feliciano, pointed this out to the City Council on February 3, 2021, that the EOC had a difficult time managing the cases because of the lack of manpower.

Garganera said that the health workers that used to work for the EOC during the peak of the pandemic in 2020 were returned to their original posts around November 2020 when the cases dropped.

Retrieving them from their current assignments took time, which made it challenging for the EOC to cope up with the rise of the cases.

Still, while the cases are rising, Garganera said the health care system remains stable because most cases are asymptomatic.

Garganera hopes that once the BICs are open, there will no longer be backlogs with the extraction of positive cases.

Meanwhile, the EOC and the NOAH Complex are studying the possibility of reducing the quarantine days for asymptomatic patients from 14 to 10.

However, Garganera said they will still present their proposal to the Department of Health in Central Visayas for approval.

The EOC is studying such because this would significantly reduce the number of patients isolated and free more beds for those who are actually symptomatic of the disease.

The EOC will still study this move because there is still a possibility that after 10 days, asymptomatic patients may still carry the virus. /rcg