Cebu City logs highest number of new cases in 53 days

CEBU, Philippines —  Cebu City has ended nearly two months of recording a relatively low number of new COVID-19 cases after posting 35 new cases on January 6, data from the Department of Health-7 showed.

Aside from being the highest number in the last 53 days, it was also the ninth straight day since December 29, 2020 that the city registered double digits in terms of new cases.

The monitoring of the city’s Emergency Operations Center showed an even higher figure at 38 new cases for Jan. 5, spread in 21 barangays and a facility.

Six of the new cases are in Barangay Guadalupe, three in Tisa, two each in Basak, San Nicolas, Kasambagan, Kinasang-an, Lahug, and Talamban, while the rest are in Apas, Buhisan, Buot, Calamba, Capitol, Cogon Pardo, Inayawan, Kasambagan, Kinasang-an, Labangon, Pahina Central, Punta Princesa, Quiot, Sambag 1 and 2, and Sta. Cruz.

Before this listing, Buot was already declared to be among the barangays with no reported COVID-19 cases.

The last time Cebu registered a number higher than the Jan. 5 statistics was on November 14, when it logged 59 new cases.

The new cases bring the total active cases in Cebu City to 222, although EOC data showed only 174 total active cases at the moment.

One death was recorded on January 3.

Currently, only 43 barangays have no reported transmission for the last 43 days while 37 others still have active infection.

Based on EOC’s monitoring on the trends of sources of infection from December 22 to January 4, household transmission is at 40.71% while outside transmission is at 59.28%.

For outside transmission, active cases are traced from different workplaces, hospital frontliners, social gatherings, in-bound travelers, exposure to a COVID-19 positive, mall strolling, public and supermarkets, prison facilities, hospitals, and from visitors/friends.

An eye opener

Among the recent cases are the 18 health care workers from Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center.

DOH-7spokesperson Dr. Mary Jean Loreche said this is an eye opener to the health care industry and the rest of the workers to be mindful of their health condition, no matter how vital their role is in their respective workplaces.

“I believe this is an eye opener for all of us, who are in the health care industry, that we need to be more mindful and we have to be very, very careful, especially in the implementation of the detection and preventive measures, lessons learned here,” she said.

Loreche said that if not feeling well, it is best to stay home or have one’s self tested before attending to work and other duties.

“Even to non-hospital-based institutions, bisan if you do not feel well and you still go to work. Minsan naghihinayang ka, or you feel the world will not function without you. It is something to think about,” she said. — JMD (FREEMAN)