CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Cebu City Emergency Operations Center (EOC) has noticed a rise in deaths in the city’s northern barangays since the beginning of August 2021.
Councilor Joel Garganera said that they opened a cluster clinic in Barangay Pit-os, the fifth in the city to improve detection of COVID-19 cases in the northern villages.
Since August 1, 2021, the city saw 30 deaths from the northern barangays of Adlaon, Agsungot, Bacayan, Binaliw, Busay, Cambinocot, Guba, Pit-os, Pulangabot, and Sirao.
This is far too high compared to the 9 deaths of the southern barangays of Babag, Buhisan, Kalunasan, and Sapangdaku.
A table of COVID-19 deaths in Cebu City as of August 2021
“Deaths in the mountain barangays, North district for the month of August is 30 deaths. That’s 19.23% of the City’s total death.”
“That is why we are putting up a Covid Cluster clinic in Brgy Pit-os aron duol ra sila magka check-up, mag pa swab if they manifest covid like symptoms. Early detection would lead to early intervention.,” said Garganera.
The city still experiences a rise in deaths for COVID-19 with the most recent reported deaths for August 18, 2021, at 13.
The total number of deaths has reached 156 and the EOC expects this to continue rising unless the hospitals are no longer overwhelmed.
The city’s hospital care utilization rate is now at 76.6 percent, still too close to the critical rate of 80 percent.
Aside from deaths, Covid cases in the city also continue to rise with 417 new cases recorded on August 18, 2021, the highest number of cases in a single day that the city recorded for the month.
The active cases are now at 4,473, and the EOC is struggling to provide isolation beds to all of them, making some isolation centers overwhelmed.
Garganera appealed to the public to be more cautious and follow the health protocols.
Furthermore, he urged the public to be vaccinated as the majority of those who succumbed to the virus was unvaccinated.
Only a very few of those who died were vaccinated and these were those who died of preexisting conditions, but coincidentally proved positive to COVID-19.
Garganera also urged all those with flu-like symptoms to go to cluster clinics at Barangays Banilad, Tinago, San Nicolas, Basak Pardo, and Pit-os. /rcg