Cebu City’s COVID-19 positivity rate falls below 5%

CEBU CITY, Cebu, Philippines — The number of COVID-19 cases in this city continued to decrease as it recorded a positivity rate of under 5 percent since Feb. 24.

The city logged a 3.21-percent positivity rate on Feb. 27, according to the local government’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC).

“It has been four days that our positivity rate is within the World Health Organization (WHO) threshold. These numbers are telling us to start preparing for the ‘new normal,’” said City Councilor Joel Garganera, the EOC deputy chief implementer, on Monday.

The positivity rate is the percentage of all coronavirus tests performed that turned out positive.

WHO said a positivity rate of under 5 percent for two weeks was one of the indicators that COVID-19 infections were under control.

As of Sunday, the city only has 743 active cases, from a high of 5,608 active infections on Jan. 20.

Garganera said they had started processing applications for in-person classes in the city as the coronavirus cases dropped.

He said the Department of Education had already identified 13 schools, mostly in mountain villages, that would pilot the in-person classes but these were halted since a number of schools were damaged by Typhoon “Odette” (international name: Rai) that hit the city on Dec. 16 last year.

On Thursday, Mayor Michael Rama, during the celebration of Cebu City’s 85th Charter Day, announced the lifting of all COVID-19 restrictions in local establishments in the city.

—NESTLE SEMILLA 

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