Rising cases in Cebu City worries EOC

Two Cebu City senior citizens wait for their turn to be vaccinated in this April 22, 2021 photo. The EOC is advising those who have been jabbed not to be complacent in the face of rising COVID-19 cases in Cebu City. | CDN Digital file photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu City is already feeling the effects of the third wave of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in Central Visayas this month.

On July 9, 2021, the city recorded 111 new COVID-19 cases raising its active cases to 1,005, the first time the city broke the 1,000-mark of cases again since the second wave in the first quarter of the year.

Councilor Joel Garganera, said that they expect the cases to rise further during the next few weeks as reflected in their data, where the positivity rate and COVID Care Occupancy (COR) rate in hospitals are increasing.

Currently, the daily positivity rate in the city is at 6 percent, a point higher than the pandemic threshold of the World Health Organization (WHO) while the COR is nearing 40 percent.

“I am not the right person to say this but if this trend will continue I think it’s gonna be a very busy week ahead for all of our frontliners. I am asking for help from everyone, both private and public sector, let us be one in this fight. Let us pause and let it sink into us that COVID is real and the war is not yet over,” said Garganera.

Based on contact tracing data of the EOC, there are at least major trends noticed among those who proved positive to the virus: inbound travelers, public transportation, social gatherings, and complacency of vaccinated individuals.

Many of the cases came from inbound travelers from neighboring local government units (LGUs) and municipalities passing through the ports of Cebu City.

“This can greatly bloat our numbers but these are just numbers, at the end of the day, we aim to contain all positive cases no matter where they come from,” he said.

The EOC also noticed many complaints of overloading and health violations in the public transport sector, which potentially could have increased the cases as well.

READ: Cuenco to meet with erring PUV violators

Social gatherings including drinking sprees in bars, restos, private and public places, and the misled mindset of vaccinated individuals that they can no longer be infected also caused increased transmission.

Garganera appeals to the public to sacrifice minor inconveniences to help reduce the cases. He said it is essential to prevent the health care system from being overwhelmed.     /rcg

READ: EOC urges public to continue following health protocols even after vaccination
Read more: https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/380401/eoc-urges-public-to-continue-following-health-protocols-even-after-vaccination#ixzz70Cgsm7bN
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