QC notes decline in COVID-19 cases amid recent surge
MANILA, Philippines — The OCTA Research Group on Thursday reported a marked improvement in the coronavirus indicator numbers in Quezon City after weeks of skyrocketing cases throughout the country.
This comes after President Rodrigo Duterte announced at a public address that modified enhanced community quarantine would be extended until mid-May.
In a statement, the city government cited the research group’s latest report which found that the average number of cases for the week of April 20 to 26 dropped to 743 compared to 1183 average cases from March 30 to April 5—or the peak of the recent surge.
“Our increased efforts on testing, contact tracing, and additional isolation facilities have greatly helped curb the increase in numbers. We will continue to improve our systems so that we can prevent surges,” Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte said.
From a reproduction of 1.59, the latest reproduction number now is 1.23, closer to the recommended reproduction number of the World Health Organization of less than 1. The positivity rate is slightly lower at 21% from 26% and the daily attack rate per 100,000 population was pegged at 23.60%.
Average tests conducted per day have increased to 3,298 which are conducted in three local government hospitals and 11 community-based testing sites located in six districts.
As of April 29, the Quezon City Epidemiology and Disease Surveillance Unit (CESU) reported the following figures within the locality:
- Active cases have decreased to 7,126 (8.8%)
- Recoveries account for 73,200 (90%)
- Deaths are at 995 (1.2%)
“We are seeing great improvements in Quezon City. We are positive that if the mitigating efforts being done by the local government will be sustained for 2-3 more weeks, the numbers will continue to decrease based on our projections,” OCTA Research Group Fellow Dr. Guido David said.
The city added that its isolation and quarantine facilities are still being increased to over 3,000 beds as city-owned buildings and schools are transformed into facilities complete with beds and other medical requirements. Additional beds were set up in Quezon City General Hospital, Novaliches District Hospital, and Rosario Maclang Bautista General Hospital.
To date, the health department has recorded 1,028,738 coronavirus cases in the country since the pathogen first emerged more than a year ago. The Philippines is still under the world’s longest quarantine.
Belmonte urged residents to continue doing their part in this COVID-19 response by strictly following basic health protocols especially when they are commuting to and from their workplaces, outside their residences, and inside business establishments.
Disclosure: Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte is a shareholder of Philstar Global Corp., which operates digital news outlet Philstar.com.
- Latest
- Trending
