41 of 51 Cebu LGUs have active cases

CEBU, Philippines —  Of the 51 local government units politically under the Cebu province, only 10 or about 19 percent have no existing COVID-19 case, data from the Provincial Health Office showed as of Jan. 23.

The number was a further dip from the 14 LGUs without active cases as of Jan. 18. Cebu had finished 2020 with more than 30 of its LGUs enjoying a COVID-free status.

At the moment, the towns with zero cases are Alcoy, Alegria, Aloguinsan, Boljoon, Oslob, San Francisco, Pilar, Tudela, Tabuelan, and Tuburan.

The decrease in number of LGUs with COVID-free status came as some towns and cities have recorded new cases again, contributing to the increasing number of total cases in the province.

As of Jan. 23, there are 498 active cases in Cebu province. This is 6.6% of the cumulative total of 7,586 cases since the start of the tally last year.

“Dili man na siya ingon daghan sa kada lungsod. Pero di gihapon mokompyansa (The cases in every LGU are not that many, but still it is good not to be complacent),” said PHO head Dr. Christina Giango.

But according to the case bulletin of the Department of Health-7, the province has 536 active cases as of Jan. 24.  On the same day, it registered 19 new cases and six recoveries.

DOH-7 data further showed that the total recoveries in the province are now at 6,649 while total deaths are at 422. Meanwhile, the total cases as of Jan. 24 are at 7,607.

PHO data showed that Cebu has so far recorded an 87.8% recovery rate or 6, 662 total recoveries. There are now 426 deaths on record divided as follows: 121 were tagged to COVID-19; 299 were incidental findings; and six have no diagnosis yet.

Giango earlier said COVID-19 cases in the province were expected to rise because of the holiday gatherings. Nevertheless, she added that the numbers have not thankfully reached alarming levels. — JMD (FREEMAN)