CEBU CITY — The Omicron-driven surge in Metro Cebu has already reached its peak and new COVID-19 cases are already on a downtrend.
This was revealed by Retired General Melquiades Feliciano, Covid-19 Task Force deputy chief implementer for the Visayas, who said the surge peaked more than a week ago.
“There is already a downtrend and hopefully the trend will continue," said Feliciano.
If cases continue to decrease, Metro Cebu may be soon downgraded from Alert Level 3 to a more relaxed Alert Level 2.
Feliciano said the Omicron-driven surge was completely different from the spike that Metro Cebu experienced last year.
He said that the Omicron-driven surge did not overwhelm hospitals unlike last year's spike that was caused by the Delta variant of the virus.
In the recent surge, Feliciano said public and private hospitals in Cebu did not reach critical levels which will serve as a big factor in downgrading the alert level.
Feliciano added that eighty percent of those that were hospitalized in Cebu are unvaccinated and partially vaccinated individuals.
“Vaccination is really the way to go,” he emphasized.
Aside from the high vaccination rate in the highly-urbanized Metro Cebu area, Feliciano said the downtrend is a result of the restrictions imposed by the local government units such as curfew and health protocols being imposed in establishments.