Active covid-19 cases in Cebu City hit below 600

THE number of active cases of Covid-19 has reportedly continued to decrease from the last five days of September to the first five days of October.

This was reported by City Councilor Joel Garganera, deputy chief implementer of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC). He said the medical frontliners have had a bit of a break as there are already 521 active cases and 64 suspected cases from Sept. 26 to Oct. 5.

This Covid-19 picture paints from a seemingly bleak situation last August, which saw Cebu City hit the 4,000-mark in active cases.

Garganera said the 11 private hospitals’ critical care occupancy rate (CCUR) is now at 24.7 percent. The CCUR is at 33 percent when the four public hospitals are included. The CCUR for the 15 hospitals was at 80 percent in August this year.

As of Oct. 5, the EOC recorded only 40 new cases of Covid-19 were recorded in Cebu City out of 1,021 individuals swabbed. This is a 3.92 percent positivity rate, a sign that the cases are decreasing, said Garganera.

The councilor hopes that the decrease in Covid-19 cases this month would continue until the months of November and December, a month of holidays, including Christmas and New Year’s Eve.

For his part, Acting Mayor Michael Rama has urged the unvaccinated residents to have themselves vaccinated so the city can already hit its target population for vaccination.

Dr. Jeffrey Ibones, head of the City Health Department, said it takes 700,000 individuals to be fully vaccinated before achieving herd immunity in Cebu City. So far, over 310,000 residents already completed their second dose.

Cebu City has a total of 40,686 Covid-19 cases out of 417,821 people who were tested. Of total cases, the city recorded 38,670 recoveries, registering a 95.04 percent recovery rate. A total of 1,431 individuals died with a 3.52 percent fatality rate. (PAC / KAL)