CEBU CITY, Cebu, Philippines — Once tagged a hot spot of coronavirus infections, Cebu and the rest of Central Visayas managed to bring down the number of cases and recently registered the highest number of recoveries in the country.
According to the Department of Health (DOH), the region had a case recovery rate of 83.61 percent as of Aug. 20. It said 14,569 of 18,370 people who contracted the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) since the pandemic started had recovered.
In Cebu City, which saw a surge in cases in June, the recovery rate was at 80.67 percent. It recorded 9,523 cases, with 1,216 considered active, 7,683 recoveries and 624 deaths.
Dr. Mary Jean Loreche, the DOH regional spokesperson, attributed the high recovery rate in Central Visayas to the public’s awareness on COVID-19, an increase in testing capabilities, and the availability of beds for patients in hospitals, quarantine facilities and isolation centers.
“Unlike other areas in the country, the region really has a high recovery rate,” she said.
Hospital beds
Loreche said Cebu City, where most cases in the region were reported, managed to bring down its number of COVID-19 patients at hospitals. At present, she said only 22.8 percent of hospital beds in the city were occupied.
COVID-free villagesThe intensive care unit (ICU) utilization rate was down to 32.7 percent, while the utilization of the COVID-19 dedicated beds was at 21.5 percent. Last month, the ICU bed occupancy was at 73.91 percent, while the ward bed occupancy was at 62.39 percent.
The number of new cases also went down to less than 50 in recent weeks, compared to more than 200 cases daily in June. On Monday, the city recorded only 11 new cases.
Councilor Joel Garganera, head of the Emergency Operations Center, said 36 of 80 villages in the city had been declared “COVID-free.”Loreche said the DOH asked local hospitals to retain their COVID-19 dedicated beds even as the number of infections in the city and the region had declined.
She said the department was aiming to downgrade Cebu City’s general community quarantine (GCQ) status to modified GCQ (MGCQ) status on Sept. 1 to further reopen more businesses.
Loreche, however, expressed fears that COVID-19 cases would again increase in Central Visayas as more stranded residents from other regions and overseas Filipino workers return to their home provinces, including Cebu.
“[That’s why] we ask them [hospitals] to maintain their reserved beds in case there is a surge in cases,” she said.