Mandaue EOC: Most of city’s new COVID-19 cases are index cases

Lawyer Lizer Malate, Mandaue City Emergency Operations (EOC) head, says that most of the COVID-19 cases this month came from the working class such as frontliners and service providers.| Mary Rose Sagarino 

MANDAUE CITY, Philippines — The Mandaue City Emergency Operations Center (EOC) said most of the city’s new Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases this month were index cases or new cases of the infection.

Lawyer Lizer Malate, EOC head, said based on the contact tracing data, about 30 to 40 percent of the city’s cases this month were index cases.

Malate explained that the cases were not discovered from the city’s contact tracing, but these were new cases of the infection.

“What is alarming is nagkadaghan ang index cases meaning ana dili ni sila cases nga from contact tracing nato mga bag-o gyud ni sila nga cases, it means nakuha gyud ni nila somewhere kung asa sila (patients) nangadto,” said Malate.

(What is alarming is that the index cases are increasing, which means these are not cases found out through our contact tracing but these are new cases. This means that they got the virus somewhere — in places where they went.)

It was also identified that most of the cases came from the working class whose ages ranged from 20 to 40 years old.

He said that the workers were frontliners, service providers, among others.

Read: Workers make up 70% of 300 cases in Mandaue in January — EOC exec

Meanwhile, from less than 1 percent of the positivity rate in December 2020 and 6.07 percent in January 2021. The city’s positivity rate now stands at 10 percent.

According to data from the EOC, out of the 4,151 individuals who got swabbed from February 1 to February 14, 428 tested positive. 

On Sunday, February 14, 2021, the city has reported 61 new COVID-19 cases, the city’s highest COVID-19 cases recorded in a day this year.

Malate said even with the rise in cases, the city had only recorded two mortarlities this year.

“Pasabot ana people are more cautious kung magpaswab na sila, kung magka symptoms dili na sila magpaabot nga makritikal. Ikaduha, ato’ng health management is more prepared (na mo) manage gyud sila, but dili gihapon ka kumpiyansaan ang pagtaas ang kaso,” he said.

(This means that people are more cautious if they undergo swabbing and if they have symptoms they would not wait for them to reach a critical stage. Second, our health management is more prepared to manage (those infected with the virus), but we still could not be complacent in the increase of the cases.)

Based on the data from the Department of Health in Central Visayas (DOH-7) on February 14, 2021, Mandaue City has 602 active cases, with 2,717 recoveries and 177 deaths.

Read: Mandaue City to strictly implement health protocols

Amid the rise in COVID-19 cases, he said the city was still not in a critical level but below a moderate level.

“No (critical level) below moderate (pa) ta sa health utilization and hospital capacity,” he said.

(No [we are not yet at the critical level] we’re still below moderate in the health utilization and hospital capacity.)

Malate said their enforcement teams and the police had been monitoring and inspecting business establishments and other places in the city to ensure that health protocols were being followed.

Malate reiterated that the fight against COVID-19 could not be resolved by an LGU alone, but also by the cooperation of the public./dbs

Read: Mandaue City opens new isolation center