AS CEBU Province topped the list of provinces and cities with the highest cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia on Monday, Aug. 9, 2021, tweaked the national guidelines on the use of rapid antigen tests and ordered that granular lockdowns be imposed per purok instead of per barangay.
In her virtual meeting with the mayors Monday, Garcia said the objective now is to contain the rapid transmission of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) in the Province.
Cebu Province on Sunday, Aug. 8, jumped to the top of the list of provinces and cities with the highest number of new Covid-19 cases.
Department of Health (DOH) Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a press conference Monday that Cebu had 664 new infections, followed by Cavite with 556, Laguna with 528, Bulacan with 487 and Quezon City with 431.
Cebu Province as well as the cities of Cebu, Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu have been placed under Alert Level 4, an early warning system that guides local government units (LGUs) on how to address an outbreak.
Under Alert Level 4, the local government unit (LGUs) must impose granular lockdowns, undertake active case finding and use rapid antigen test, urgently increase hospital beds, ensure enough oxygen supply, ensure accessibility of PhilHealth benefits for Covid-19 patients, and immediately refer severely and critically ill patients.
New rules
During their meeting, Garcia and the mayors agreed that if Covid-19 affects 10 percent of the households in a purok (zone), the entire purok would be placed under lockdown after assessment by the mayor.
“In the matter of containing (transmission), we set an across-the-board per purok and dili na (no longer) per barangay. I gave this to the mayors. You (mayors) are in the best position to know the actual situation so you and your Emergency Operations Center will determine when to impose a lockdown,” Garcia said.
She noted that based on the policies being imposed by the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, LGUs are authorized to impose granular lockdowns.
Restricting a purok instead of a barangay would allow other residents who have not contracted the contagious disease to continue working for a living, Garcia said. An executive order to cover this revision would be issued.
As part of active case finding, meanwhile, those who manifest symptoms will be subjected to a reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test for Sars-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, while they are under isolation for 10 to 14 days in a temporary treatment and monitoring facility.
First generation contacts who are asymptomatic will be subjected to a rapid antigen test (RAT) while undergoing isolation for seven days at home. They are required to wear a face mask.
Under IATF Resolution 130-D and DOH Memorandum 2021-0169, the RAT may be used to confirm suspect or probable cases and close contacts. Those who get a negative result must undergo RT-PCR test.
A rapid antigen test detects the presence of antibodies in the blood, which indicate that the individual was or is infected. It does not detect Sars-CoV-2, unlike the RT-PCR test.
In late March 2021, the DOH allowed the use of the RAT in the NCR Plus, which was then experiencing a sharp increase in cases.
On August 6, Vergeire also announced that RATs may be used in areas placed under Alert Level 3 and 4.
However, the results of this test are not included in the DOH case bulletins because the DOH has to rely on reports from the LGUs.
Vergeire on Monday called on LGUs using this test to submit complete reports to the DOH.
An area’s Covid-19 case count impacts on its risk and quarantine classification, which is based on the two-week growth rate and average daily attack rate, among others. The lower the number of cases and rate of increase, the less stringent the quarantine classification is.
Delta variant
Given the rising cases in Cebu Province as well as in the cities of Cebu, Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu, Central Visayas region had the third highest number of new cases at 1,412 on Sunday.
The National Capital Region (NCR) posted the highest infections at 2,325, followed by Calabarzon (1,562). Following Central Visayas were Central Luzon (1,025) and Northern Mindanao (635).
These five regions, along with eight other regions, have Covid-19 cases caused by the highly contagious Delta variant.
The Delta variant has now been detected in 450 cases in 13 regions, 26 provinces, and 29 highly urbanized and independent component cities, Vergeire said.
Vergeire said 10 had died, 13 cases remained active and 426 recovered. The outcome of one case was still being verified.
Of the total, 146 are in the NCR, 47 in Calabarzon, 37 in Central Visayas, 39 in Central Luzon and 22 in Northern Mindanao.
The eight other regions with Delta cases are Ilocos (5), Cagayan Valley (1), Bicol (1), Western Visayas (36), Eastern Visayas (11), Zamboanga Peninsula (3), Davao (6) and Cordillera (1).
More than half of the patients, or 248 (55 percent), are male. The patients included infants under one year old and adults 84 years old.
Of the 450 cases, 69 are returning overseas Filipinos (ROF) and 355 are local cases, which means they have no foreign travel history.
As of Sunday, Vergeire said they have verified that 35 of the cases are fully vaccinated, 17 have received one dose and 83 are not vaccinated. They were still verifying the vaccination status of 315 cases. (SunStar Philippines, ANV)