COVID-19 cases in Quezon City, once the virus hotspot in the country, are on a downward trend as the local government continues to strengthen its testing, tracing and vaccination efforts to protect its constituents against the disease.
In a report submitted by OCTA Research Team to Mayor Joy Belmonte, it showed that the average daily cases in Quezon City from June 8 to 14 has gone down to 167, from 1,000 on March 3 to April 5.
The city's average daily attack rate (ADAR) also reached 5.3, from 37.58 in early April. ADAR is the number of new cases over a two-week period divided by the city's total population. An ADAR of less than one means low risk while one to seven is moderate.
Quezon City used to be the top city with the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the country. But as of June 8, Davao City already took the spot.
Belmonte attributed this to the local government's continuous testing and isolation efforts while boosting its vaccination program.
“While our vaccination program is in full swing, the City Health Department and the City Epidemiology and Disease Surveillance Unit (CESU) are still focused on providing free swab testing to all who are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, have close contact with positive patients, and others who are in lockdown areas," she said in a statement Friday.
"Likewise, the city continues to expand its isolation facilities by retrofitting existing buildings like our schools," she added, as the local government recently opened three additional isolation facilities, bringing its total number to 11.
As of June 17, CESU said there are 1,778 active COVID-19 cases in the city. The city's number of recoveries is at 96,765 (97%), and deaths at 1,159 (1.2%), of the total 99,702 confirmed cases.
The local government assured that it will continue strictly monitoring its barangays as the country's quarantine measures have become less restrictive.
“We will not falter in reminding our residents to remain vigilant. COVID-19 and all its variants continue to affect our communities," Belmonte said.