Cebu City hopes for Alert Level 2, now under ‘moderate risk’

high-rise buildings

High-rise buildings over Cebu City. CDN Digital photo | Brian J. Ochoa

Cebu City is hoping that the Alert Level 3 status will be downgraded to Alert Level 2 status by February 15. | CDN Digital photo | Brian J. Ochoa

Cebu City is hoping that the Alert Level 3 status will be downgraded to Alert Level 2 status by February 15. | CDN Digital photo | Brian J. Ochoa

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu City is hoping for an Alert Level 2 quarantine status now that the city has been placed under moderate risk for COVID-19, according to independent research organization, OCTA.

OCTA Research has placed Cebu City, Mandaue City, and Lapu-Lapu City under moderate risk following the decreasing trend of COVID-19 infections here.

Cebu City’s growth rate in new cases is now -56 percent with an Average Daily Attack Rate (ADAR) of 16.53 percent while Lapu-Lapu and Mandaue cities have -63 percent with an ADAR of 14.83 percent and 11.15 percent respectively.

ADAR is the average number of new cases per 100,000 people within a seven-day period. OCTA said the ADAR of the three cities were still high.

For reproduction rate, Cebu City has 0.62, Lapu-Lapu has 0.52, and Mandaue has 0.55.

Councilor Joel Garganera, deputy chief implementor of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC), said that the situation in the city had greatly improved.

The hospital occupancy rate is down at 30 percent, the new cases are only two digits with 95 new cases reported on February 10, 2022.

“We are hoping that on the 15th of February, we will be downgraded to a much lower quarantine status at Alert Level 2. Para nako moqualify na ta (For me, we can qualify for that),” he said.

Mayor Michael Rama told CDN Digital that the city was really aiming for an Alert Level 1 by March, but an Alert Level 2 this mid-February would be a more plausible goal.

The mayor said that even with the drop in risk level and noticeable improvement of the COVID-19 cases, this should not be a reason to be complacent.

“Always follow health protocols. This is our challenge because we want a lower Alert Level Status,” he said.

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