Downtown Cebu City. CDN Digital photo | Brian J. Ochoa
CEBU CITY, Philippines – Cebu City continues to enjoy a downtrend in the number of active COVID-19 cases as its Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ) status has been extended until May 31.
Recent data from the city’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) show that the recovery rate here has reached 95 percent, the highest so far for 2021.
This means that 22, 595 of the 23,781 patients confirmed with COVID-19 infection in Cebu City have already recovered as of May 15, leaving the number of active cases to 329.
Mortalities related to COVID-19, on the other hand, stood at 859 and there were no new deaths registered on May 15.
Cebu City also continued to record more recoveries than new infections.
There were 37 additional recoveries while only 17 new confirmed cases were registered on the same date.
The city also posted a new low in terms of positivity rate on May 15, with 1.61 percent.
“When we have a thousand tested, we always get a PR (positivity rate) of around three to four percent. But today we only have 1.6 percent PR (positivity rate),” said Councilor Joel Garganera, the city’s EOC head.
Positivity rate that also refer to as percent positive in some countries is used to determine the speed of COVID-19 transmission in an area or locality.
Higher rates usually indicate that the infection is spreading rapidly.
In the meantime, Garganera is reminding the public not to let their guards down even if the outbreak here has improved.
“But then again, bisan tuod nigamay atong mga kaso apan wala kani nagpasabot nga nidaug nata sa atong kombati batok sa COVID,” said Garganera.
(But then again, even if it’s true that our cases have decreased, this does not mean we have already won the fight against COVID.)
“Permanent mo tuman gyud ta sa mga health protocol (ug) matud pa sa atong Mayor Edgar Labella ang vaccine dili na siya substitute sa atong health practices. Mas ma protektahan ta batok sa COVID kung tumanon nato ning vaccination ug health protocol side by side,” he added.
(We have to permanently abide with health protocols and according to our Mayor Edgar Labella, the vaccine is not a substitute for our health practices. We can protect ourselves better against COVID if we both get ourselves vaccinated and follow health protocols, side by side.) / dcb
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