Cebu City now 'very low risk,' says research group OCTA

CEBU, Philippines —  Almost a month since experiencing a third wave of coronavirus infections, Cebu City is able to keep its number of new cases and active cases low that independent research group OCTA classified it as “very low risk” as of October 26, 2021.

OCTA used indicators based on covidactnow.org and the Department of Health (DOH)’s data drop, the group said in its update released Wednesday, October 27.

OCTA emphasized, though, that such assessment does not reflect the alert level ratings given by DOH and the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF).

In OCTA’s assessment, Cebu City’s incidence rate or average daily attack rate (ADAR) is now considered “low” at 1.72 cases per 100,000 per day, while its reproduction number is at 0.42.

The City’s healthcare utilization rate (HCUR) is now at 19 percent with only 29 percent in the ICU, and its positivity rate is now at only two percent as of October 26.

Data from the city’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) even reflected a lower positivity rate of 1.26 percent with only 11 fresh cases out of 871 tested.

It was also noted that Cebu City only has an average of 18 new cases and a -31 percent in its growth rate from October 20 to 26.

Its number of active cases is now only 328 after the city reconciled its data with that of DOH-7.

“Nalipay sad gyud ko. Nanghinaot ko nga magpadayon gyud ta sa pagtuman sa mga protocol ug labaw sa tanan panghingusgan gyud nato ang atong PaBakuna. Mao ni siya hinagiban nga ma-nabigar nato ning krisis sa panglawas ug ekonomiya,” said Councilor Joel Garganera, deputy chief implementer of the EOC.

Garganera said all sacrifices have paid off but the more important part now is sustaining the progress. This can be done if residents will all be mindful of their actions and if commercial establishments continue to enforce health protocols strictly, especially now that more establishments like cinemas are allowed to reopen.

“Mas muhayag atong kapaskuhan kung iapil nato ang ventilation sa mga enclosed nga lugar sama sa mga restaurant, bar, ug lakip na ang mga pampubliko nga transportasyon,” he said.

Cebu City is under Alert Level 2 for the rest of October.

Cebu City is included in the NCR (National Capital Region) Plus 8, which is composed of hotspots that first received vaccine allocations.

The other areas in the NCR Plus 8 are Metro Manila, Davao City, Batangas, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, Pampanga, and Rizal.

NCR, Rizal, Cavite, Bulacan, Batangas, and Davao City are now classified as low risk while Laguna and Pampanga are at moderate risk level.

Meanwhile, the Cebu City EOC has already locked down a rehabilitation facility in Talamban following reports of suspected COVID-19 infection in the facility.

Garganera said they have already put interventions in place, including contact tracing and swabbing. The area has also been cordoned off.

A source told The Freeman up to 90 individuals were swabbed, not just those who manifested symptoms. — Rowena D. Capistrano, JMO (FREEMAN)