By Minerva Newman
CEBU CITY — The Department of Health (DOH-7) and local health authorities in Central Visayas have intensified the active community surveillance, most especially in targeted strategic testing in communities within the cities of Cebu, Lapulapu and Mandaue where a daily rise in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) positive cases have been noted.
DOH-7 Director Dr. Jaime Bernadas said that the regional numbers were increasing as there are now 527 COVID-19 cases in the region, as of April 27, which was the result of intensified active community surveillance and testing. He said this was expected as the region continues to test more people in the coming weeks.
“We remind the public that although we have a high number of cases, we also have a low number of deaths. The number of deaths is one of the measures of success in the fight against COVID-19,” Bernadas said.
He also noted that the number of recoveries or COVID-19 negatives was already steadily rising from 10 last week to 28 as of April 27, while deaths remained at 11 until Monday. This proved the competency and expertise of the health personnel in the region in attending to the COVID-19 cases, Bernandas added.
Cebu City, Lapulapu City and Mandaue City remained as the placed to watch as new cases were registered daily, although these were on a steady decline based on the DOH-7 data provided to media daily.
Latest statistics of COVID-19 cases in the region showed that 527 patients were tested positive, with Cebu City having the highest number with 475 with 16 recoveries and six deaths. Lapulapu City has registered 32 cases with five recoveries and zero death while Mandaue City has 11 cases, two recoveries and one death.