Laboratory disinfection causes low report on cases, EOC asks for patience
Cebu City Councilor Joel Garganera, the deputy chief implementor of the EOC in Cebu City.
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Cebu City Emergency Operations Center (EOC) appeals to the public waiting for their test results to be a little more patient as the molecular laboratory in the city was disinfected.
“Basta gamay rag cases, atong laboratories motake sila sa opportunity nga madisinfect. Mao na gamay ra tag cases run, 58 ra. Ubay-ubay pud ang wala na test pero pasensya lang kay mogawas na pud na run,” said Councilor Joel Garganera, the deputy chief implementor of the EOC.
The city recorded only 58 new active cases of the COVID-19 due to the disinfection of CTBRL Molecular Facility of the Department of Health (DOH) yesterday, September 13, 2021.
With its return to full operations today, September 14, 2021, it is expected that the cases will rise to the usual daily average of more than a hundred.
Even though the EOC considers the cases for September 13, 2021, somewhat a ‘false report’ because of the reduced capacity for testing, they maintained that improvements have been consistent in the past weeks.
The active cases in the city are now at 1,433 according to EOC records and the daily positivity rate is at 12.92 percent. The positivity rate is still high, but Garganera said it is actually a huge improvement compared to August 2021 when the positivity rate was at 20 percent.
The hospital occupancy showed great improvement as well as it is now down to 59 percent compared to August’s near 80 percent.
Despite these improvements, the EOC appeals to the public to remain vigilant as the death toll for September alone has reached 49 as of September 14, 2021, which means that at least two to three deaths are occurring every day due to COVID-19.
The EOC reiterates that getting the vaccine would help protect an individual from a severe form of the illness and the long-term solution to ending the pandemic.
So aside from maintaining the health protocols, the EOC appeals to the public to get vaccinated when they have a chance or get registered to Pabakunata.com.
Garganera said the city’s goal is to achieve herd immunity before the year-end holidays so that Cebuanos may finally enjoy Christmas more safely this year. /rcg
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