The City of Cebu has recorded 313 confirmed Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases within a single week, bringing its active cases to more than 613.
Data from the Department of Health (DOH) Region 7 show that 23 cases were reported on January 11, 46 on the twelfth, 50 on the thirteenth, 33 on the fourteenth, and 61 on the fifteenth. A total of 100 cases were tallied over the weekend. As of January 17, there are 11,433 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the city with 10,120 recoveries and 700 fatalities.
“Medyo alaraming siya at 600 plus na ang ating active cases (It’s a little alarming that our active cases are over 600). But remember that the active cases reflect those who are COVID-confirmed and those who have been either admitted or not na hindi pa na-discharge (were not yet discharged),” DOH 7 Spokesperson Dr. Mary Jane Loreche explained.
The DOH reported that 90 percent of the new cases in the city are asymptomatic. Loreche said that the new UK variant can neither be confirmed nor denied pending the result of the samples sent to the Philippine Genome Center “from the arrivals of one of the flagged countries.”
The DOH reiterated that the compliance of minimum health protocols is still required whether or not the more transmissible variant has entered the city.
The Sinulog Cultural Presentation and several religious activities were cancelled amid the surge in cases, while the Misa Nobenaryo for the feast has been moved online. – Report from John Aroa/ PTV Cebu
