
ILOILO City – Gatherings and house parties contributed to the increase in new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infections in the city, which registered 47 local infections since the start of December.
Citing the assessment of contact tracers, Mayor Jerry Treñas said most of the recent cases were detected from household gatherings where physical distancing is difficult to observe.
The mayor, however, did not divulge further information as to how these cases contracted the viral illness.
On Dec. 1, the city had 15 additional confirmed COVID-19 cases. The next day, 24 new COVID-19 positives were recorded. As of 12 noon yesterday, eight more cases brought to 4,391 the metro’s total confirmed cases.
These figures, however, may significantly increase in the coming days, warned the city government’s COVID team. They were still tracking more close contacts of the infected patients.
According to Treñas, the growing case clusters arising from smaller gatherings are troubling.
He warned that complacency could easily undermine many of the gains in controlling the spread of the contagious disease.
Treñas recently issued Executive Order No. 194 setting the rules for holiday events. The city remains under general community quarantine for the entire month of December.
Under EO 194, Treñas discouraged work or non-family-related Christmas gatherings but suggested an alternative – virtual get-together at home.
COVID-19 spreads from person to person through small droplets from the nose or mouth which are spread when a person with COVID-19 coughs or exhales.
These droplets also land on objects and surfaces around the person. Other people then catch COVID-19 by touching these objects or surfaces, then touching their eyes, nose or mouth.
“We remind everyone to practice health protocols even inside their households to avoid virus transmission,” Treñas stressed.
Meanwhile, the average daily count for new COVID-19 case in December is at 19 – from 11 in November and 48 in October.
From Dec. 1 to 2, the five barangays with the most number of cases were Cubay in Jaro district with eight cases; Tabuc Suba, Jaro (five cases); Balabago and Dungon C, Jaro and Onate de Leon in Mandurriao district (three cases each).
On the other hand, the city had 94.49 percent recovery rate as of Dec. 2.
According to the Department of Health (DOH), 4,099 COVID-19 patients have recovered in this southern out of a total of 4, 368 cumulative cases.
The city’s remaining active cases were 146 while deaths stood at 123.
BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY
DOH reminded the public against holding large family and social gatherings because these could be a source of COVID-19 transmission.
It advised the public to utilize online platforms such as the social media, video messaging apps and e-commerce sites in place of the traditional holiday activities like attending masses or Simbang Gabi, getting in touch with relatives, and buying gifts.
Senior citizens, especially those with weak immune systems and underlying medical conditions, are more prone to contracting COVID-19 virus.
With this, the agency advised that it is better to stay at home during this Christmas season.
The health department also reminded the public to be conscious of the “six peligro” factors during holiday activities.
These are the number of people, the density of people in an area which would make the observance of physical distancing difficult, the duration of the activity, ventilation of the venue, the nature of the activity, and the ability to use personal protective equipment such as facemasks and face shields./PN