At 19, Cebu City’s active cases at their lowest ever

CEBU, Philippines —  Cebu City has logged the lowest total active cases of Covid-19 since the start of the pandemic reporting back in 2020 with only 18 cases left as of yesterday.

The first two cases of Covid-19 in the country were recorded in February 2020. They had a history of travel to Dumaguete and Cebu, but the Cebu City’s Health Department had only started reporting local cases on March 29 with a total of 20 cases.

A few weeks after, an outbreak of cases was noted in Barangay Luz, particularly in Sitio Zapatera.

Schools were converted as barangay isolation centers and the city was placed under an Enhanced Community Quarantine.

By the end of May 2020, it was downgraded to a lower classification, only to be placed under an ECQ again after the city became the epicenter of Covid-19 in the middle of the year.

Cebu City survived the first wave but was hit again by at least two surges in 2021, one being a post-holiday surge and the other one a Delta-driven surge that overwhelmed not only hospital care but even morgues, crematoriums and cemeteries.

With the arrival of the Covid-19 vaccines, Cebu City was able to bounce back toward the end of last year until it got hit by super typhoon Odette, causing minimum health protocols to be breached, spurring the Omicron variant wave.

The Omicron surge spread fast with Cebu City posting 7,777 cases based on DOH-VII data on January 28, 2022, making it the highest recorded number of total active cases in a day.

As the national and local elections neared, many had apprehensions that another surge might happen due to the massive public gatherings minus the social distancing and even proper masking, but the city government assured such a thing would not happen.

Over a week from the elections, the city’s Covid-19 cases are now at their lowest with only 19 based on the data provided by the City’s Emergency Operations Center.

Active surveillance and testing remain. Out of the 729 tested, only two turned out positive on May 17.

Currently, 70 barangays are without transmission and only 10 barangays have a few cases. The 10 barangays are Basak Pardo, Mabolo, Guadalupe, Tisa, Camputhaw, Capitol Site, Kinasang-an, Quiot, Labangon and Lahug.

But while the city’s situation in Covid-19 is “good”, City Councilor Joel Garganera, deputy chief implementer of the EOC, reminded everyone not to be complacent and to observe minimum health protocols still.

Aside from that, vaccination for the primary series of the Covid-19 vaccines and booster shots are being offered for extended protection from the disease. — JMD (FREEMAN)