CAGAYAN de Oro City’s daily active cases went down to double figures at the start of December, but the City Health Office (CHO) told residents not to be complacent.
“(As of 10 pm on Nov. 27), we logged 83 active cases of whom 45 are admitted to the city’s public and private hospitals and 37 are admitted to the city’s isolation facilities. For the same period, we logged eight new cases and nine recoveries…despite these numbers, we still encourage those to complete their vaccination and still comply with minimum health protocols,” City Health Officer Dr. Rachel Dilla said.
CHO epidemiologist Dr. Teodulfo Joselito Retuya Jr said while the daily active cases went down at the end of November, it remains to be seen if the numbers will hold at the end of 2022.
“For the week ending Nov. 26, the city logged an average of eight new cases daily while the weekly average went down from 73 at the end of Nov. 19 to 59 cases last Nov. 26,” Dr. Retuya said.
Dr. Retuya said the easing of health protocols including the return to full face-to-face classes and activities in last August’s celebration of the annual fiesta contributed to the spike in cases.
Except for spikes experienced last January to February and the months of July to October, the city’s healthcare utilization rate remained stable due to faster recoveries which Dr. Retuya credited to the city’s high vaccination rate.
“We have many vacant rooms (for Covid-19 patients) but this isn’t an invitation for anyone to get sick with Covid-19 so we should continue with our reminders to them to avoid the virus. Despite the presidential mandate allowing the optional wearing of face masks, it falls on every person to be responsible for his or her protection,” Dr. Retuya said in Visayan.
For her part, CHO immunization program coordinator Dr. Ina Grace Chiu reminded residents to check on their vaccination status. She said they should make sure that they and their families completed their vaccination to ensure their protection from the virus.
“At the very least, children should get their primary series of vaccines and one booster dose so if they get infected, they would recover faster,” she said. (Stephen Capillas of City Information Office)
