Less than 300 active cases in Cebu City; Public cooperation noted

CEBU, Philippines —  Cebu City’s active COVID-19 cases dropped to 278 on Monday, May 17, 2021, and at least 36 of its 80 barangays are now without infection in the last 10 days, the city Emergency Operations Center (EOC) reported.

The last time the city had this high number of barangays without transmission was in early January this year with 47 barangays just shortly before it was hit by a second wave of transmission attributed to gatherings during the holidays. At that time, on January 1 in particularly, the city only has 128 remaining active cases.

“This is very good news unya nanghinaot ta nga magpadayon ni siya,” said the EOC’s deputy chief implementer, Councilor Joel Garganera.

He attributed the decrease in active cases to residents cooperating in the continued implementation of health protocols.

“Para nako, we in the government, EOC, ABC (Association of Barangay Councils), we can only do so much. But to me, people have already cooperated. Ni-cooperate na gyud ang mga tawo,” he said.

He said cooperation is crucial, especially now that the city is reopening its economy further. Cebu City is under modified general community quarantine.

“We are doing good. We are in the right direction, but the challenge right now is abli man gud ang atong ekonomiya. Daghan na tang gipang-ablihan nga establishment, daghan na sad tang gi-approve nga mga kalihukan sama anang mga outdoor sports,” Garganera said.

“We are going to do it in a manner nga safe kaayo. Bahala na’g hinay basta masiguro gyud nato ang safety kay dili gyud na pwede nga ma-compromise gyud nato ang public health,” he added.

He also gave credit to effective contact tracing and extraction, as well as responsiveness of barangays.

“The barangays are also very responsive sa ilaha pu’ng mga buhaton. Dali ra kaayo nato ma-trace,” he added.

Data

Garganera said they are expecting to reconcile their data with that of the Department of Health (DOH)-7, considering the huge difference between the EOC numbers and those reported by DOH.

He said there is a variance of 240 cases as the latest DOH-7 report still reflected 518 active cases for Cebu City.

He said it is most likely that the EOC’s figures will be followed.

“Anytime today and tomorrow, nag-harmonize na ron sa mga different LGUs ang regional office sa DOH regarding aning ato mga figures... Usually, ang ato man gyu'y masunod kay mas in-depth, mas real time sad ni siya,” Garganera said.

He said the city’s data gathering is “very efficient” as the EOC can determine the source of transmission immediately and deploy personnel to respond.

“For example, sa atong data, nakita didto nga taas kaayo ang nibisita sa pungko-pungko, so ato gipahingusgan sa police, sa mga barangay. In the span of two weeks, naubos gyud dayon nato,” said Garganera.

“We don't have enough warm bodies, ba, but if we have the data, we are guided accordingly. Scientific kaayo atong deployment,” he said.

DOH Data

Based on DOH’s data, 518 is the lowest number of cases recorded in Cebu City since January 15. Neighboring Mandaue City has 220 active cases and Lapu-Lapu is down to 241 active cases. Cebu Province has 490 active cases.

DOH-7 spokesperson and chief pathologist, Dr. Mary Jean Loreche, said critical care utilization in private hospitals is only at 12.9 percent as of May 16. This means, only eight COVID patients are in intensive care, 65 others are moderate to severe cases, while 38 are mild cases.

Loreche said the current numbers are a reflection of the city’s case control management.

“We pray na since niluag na ta karon, dili na ni musaka og balik atong cases. We cannot only rely on the LGUs to be imposing everything. Dapat alam na natin yan lahat, mismo sa sarili natin, na sumusod sa mga health protocols,” Loreche said. — Caecent No-ot Magsumbol, Decemay P. Padilla, JMO (FREEMAN)