DOH monitors clustering of COVID-19 cases in barangays in Cebu City

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health (DOH) on Friday said it is monitoring new clustering of COVID-19 cases in a number of barangays in Cebu City, which recently saw a sudden spike in coronavirus infections.

In an online media forum Friday, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the agency has deployed a group of experts to look into the emergence of these clusters of cases in Cebu City.

“We continue to monitor the clustering of cases across the country. Yes, we have new clustering of cases in the province of Cebu specifically in areas in Cebu City with the different barangays,” she said.

Eased coronavirus lockdowns have been maintained nationwide except for Cebu City which is placed under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) and Talisay City which is now under modified ECQ due to high transmission rate, and the increasing demand for critical care.

Cebu City is considered the epicenter of the contagion in Central Visayas, which as a region now has a total of 4,832 confirmed COVID-19 cases, over 66 percent or 3,216 of which were recorded in the Queen City of the South.

Currently, there are 27,799 COVID-19 cases nationwide, including 7,090 recoveries and 1,116 deaths.

EDV