Cebu City possibly close to ‘endemic stage’ of COVID — OCTA Research

MANILA, Philippines — Cebu City could be close to the “endemic stage” of COVID-19 as it records only an average of 15 new coronavirus cases per day, OCTA Research said Thursday.

During the Pandesal Forum, OCTA Research fellow Guido David said that the 15 new cases in the city in the previous week is six percent lower than the preceding week.

“You might ask why Cebu’s growth rate is not so low. It’s only six percent. Well, it’s because their cases are already low. They are probably close to what we call the endemic stage wherein it’s just going to be around that number, 10 to 15 cases per day,” he said.

“I am not sure if it can go lower. Maybe it can go lower once they vaccinate more people than what they have now,” he added.

According to the United States’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, endemic refers to the “constant presence or usual prevalence of a disease or infectious agent in a population within a geographic area,” while a pandemic is “an epidemic that has spread over several countries or continents, usually affecting a large number of people.”

The World Health Organization classifies the global coronavirus crisis as a pandemic.

Based on OCTA Research’s data, the average daily attack rate of COVID in Cebu City is currently 1.43 per 100,000. This means that an average of only one person gets infected per 100,000 individuals per day in the city.

Meanwhile, the city’s reproduction number is at 0.46. Reproduction number is the average number of people being infected by one patient.

Healthcare utilization in the city is at 19 percent, while intensive care utilization is at 14 percent. Positivity rate, or the number of individuals testing positive for the virus among all those tested, is currently at two percent.

Cebu City has 283 active cases of COVID-19 based on the tracker of the Department of Health. The city is classified as very low risk for the disease, according to OCTA Research.

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