By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco & Samuel P. Medenilla
A TOTAL of 488 instances of clustering—when there are two or more cases in a specific area—nationwide have been reported by the Department of Health (DOH), as cases in the country reached 51,754 on Thursday, with 1,395 new cases logged.
As of July 8, the 488 clustering instances were recorded in: 46 health facilities, 24 jails, 379 communities and other areas, 39.
Of the 488, 34 new clusters were reported from July 6 to 8: one in a health facility, one in jail, and 32 in communities.
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire noted that the increase in cases is not only due to clustering but also to “community transmission,” but they could no longer see the “link” of current cases to any infected persons. Community transmission is when someone gets the virus with no known contact or exposure.
To avoid confusion since she used the word “link,” she explained, “What I said was that based on our findings, community transmission is observed to be the primary driver of the recently reported infections.”
As such, she added, “this may entail that we cannot necessarily trace all cases to a specific case/source as opposed to previously that we were able to trace a specific cluster of cases to a source , such as an imported case or a case from closed-settings—this is the very definition of community transmission.”
Cebu’s situation
Despite the decline in infections and fatalities related to Covid-19 in Cebu City, the DOH said the city will remain under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) for now.
In an online press briefing on Thursday, Heath Undersecretary Leopoldo Vega said it is still “too early” for them to recommend to downgrade the community quarantine in Cebu City.
However, he noted the stricter enforcement of quarantine measures and minimum health standards in the city has already resulted in an improvement in the government’s anti-Covid-19 measures there.
“There was a decline in the positivity rates here in Cebu [City] because of the ECQ and there was also a decreasing trend in their mortality rates. So the [implementation of] ECQ in Cebu [City] is effective right now,” Vega said.
The positivity rate is the ratio between the number of people who were tested and those who were infected.
Ongoing preparations
Vega said that if a continuous decline in Covid-19 incidents in Cebu City is noted, the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) may decide to lower the ECQ in Cebu City into a general community quarantine (GCQ).
The health official said they are now preparing the health-care facilities in the city to cope with a possible surge in Covid-19 cases in case it is placed under GCQ.
“Its health-care system should have the capacity and should network [including] both public and private [hospitals] to provide proper referral to patients who will need [medical care],” Vega said.
Part of this preparation, he explained is requiring medical facilities in Cebu City to allocate a maximum of 30 percent of their bed capacities for Covid-19 patients.
Last month, the IATF placed Cebu City under ECQ amid the spike in new Covid-19 cases there as well as its diminished available critical health care.
President Duterte attributed the spread of Covid-19 infections in Cebu City to the lax enforcement of quarantine measures there.
He deployed the National Task Force against Covid-19 (NTF) to help contain it Covid-19 infection in the city.
As of July 8, 2020, Cebu City still has the highest active Covid-19 cases among cities and provinces nationwide with 4,380.
It was followed by Quezon City (1,899), Manila (1,719), Cebu province (1,551), and Caloocan City (793).
Minimum standards
On Wednesday, the DOH appealed to the public to “religiously” follow the minimum public health standards as cases are soaring due to community transmission.
“This is precisely why everybody needs to religiously subscribe to our minimum public health standards. It may sound repetitive but we will not stop reminding everyone to wear masks, observe physical distancing, sanitize,” Vergeire said.
Vergeire also stressed that by observing the minimum public health standards, the country may avoid reaching the levels of infection projected by the University of the Philippines (UP) OCTA Research —that Covid-19 cases may reach more than 100,000 by the end of August.
“This is DOH’s call to everybody, whether you be in the private or public sector, if you are going out and exposing yourself and your loved ones to an unseen enemy, protect yourself. By doing so, you protect your family, you protect your community, you protect the nation,” Vergeire stressed.
The UP group said the infection rate increased after recording a 1.6 Reproduction number during the general community quarantine, meaning one infected individual can infect at least one other individual.
Vergeire said they welcomed the study of UP experts as it would help them analyze the data presented. She, however, reminded the public to “interpret with caution.”
Overseas Filipinos
Meanwhile, the Department of Foreign Affairs reported an additional 30 confirmed Covid-19 cases among Filipino nationals abroad, bringing the total to 8,792.
There are 17 new recoveries in Asia and the Pacific, Europe and Africa, for a total of 5,254; and two new fatalities in Africa to bring the fatalities to 592.
Those undergoing treatment are now 2,946.
Image credits: Roy Domingo