ILOILO City – Active cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Western Visayas have surpassed the 3,000 mark.
On Aug. 13, 173 new cases were recorded, bringing the region’s active cases to 3,061, data released by the Department of Health (DOH) showed.
Iloilo province has the highest number of active cases at 1,144 followed by Iloilo City which has 532.
Aklan province came in third with 429 active cases followed by Negros Occidental with 286; Antique with 254; Capiz with 213; Bacolod City with 168; and Guimaras with 35.
DOH has been reiterating the importance of vaccination as the best defense against severe COVID-19 infection and complications.
The department also continues to encourage the eligible population to get vaccinated and boosted against COVID-19 and adhere to the minimum public health standards such as wearing of best-fitted facemask, to isolate when signs and symptoms manifest, and to ensure that there is proper airflow or ventilation.
According to DOH Region 6, 42.21 percent of the active cases are asymptomatic; 51.45 percent show mild symptoms; 3.82 percent moderate; 2.48 percent severe; and 0.03 percent critical.
The cumulative death toll, on the other hand, since the pandemic started in March 2022 climbed to 6,166.
The province of Negros Occidental logged the highest death toll at 1,686 followed by Iloilo province (1, 562), Bacolod City (885), Iloilo City (727), Capiz (516), Antique (347), Aklan (243), and Guimaras (200).
Despite the resurgence of cases, the region’s health care utilization rate is still at low risk, according to DOH. Of the 170 total ICU beds for COVID-19 cases, 78 percent are still available. Of the 158 ventilators, 91 percent are available; and of the 1,852 beds, 55 percent are available.
The Health department earlier cited the Omicron and its sub-variants of the virus that causes COVID-19 as among the reasons for the surge in cases not just in Western Visayas but in the whole country.
As of Aug. 8, the region logged a total of 959 Omicron and its sub-variant cases. Data show Iloilo province with the highest cases at 346 followed by Iloilo City with 245; Bacolod City, 123; Negros Occidental, 69; Guimaras, 67; Capiz, 57; Antique, 40; and Aklan 12 .
However, during the recent press briefing of DOH central office, 265 more Omicron sub-variant cases were logged to Region 6, bringing the total cases of Omicron and its sub-lineages to over 1,224./PN
