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CORONAVIRUS MAP. Where the majority of coronavirus cases are in Cebu City. Photo by Gelo Litonjua / Rappler
CEBU CITY, Philippines (UPDATED) – Cebu City and Quezon City are at a distance from each other for the highest number of coronavirus cases in the country. According to the Cebu City Health Department, Cebu City has 1,660 cases after reporting 91 new infections, as of Tuesday morning, May 12.
Quezon City reported 1,589 cases on Monday night, May 11.
New cases were reported in the following areas:
- Tejero – 56
- Sawang Calero – 21
- Mambaling – 8
- Hermitage – 2
- Sweet – 1
- Saint Nicholas Own – 1
- Santa Cruz – 1
- Unknown Barangay – 1
Four barangays, as well as in the Cebu City Jail, are now reporting cases by the hundreds,
Where most of the cases are:
- Mambaling – 608
- Light – 194
- Climb – 130
- Labangon – 127
- Cebu City Jail – 337
What they have in common: All the areas with a large number of cases are in poor urban neighborhoods, such as Sitio Alaska in Mambaling and Sitio Zapatera in Luz.
Dr. Jaime Bernadas, director of the Visayas Central Health Department, said that the cases in these areas have been declared as “community transmission” or when there is no clear information on the origin or how the virus got there.
Zapatera, a site of more than 9,000 residents, was the first barangay to reach more than 100 positive cases in early April, after contact tracing and targeted testing yielded dozens more results.
Labangon, which has around 33,000 residents, reached more than 100 by April 28, followed by Suba’s fishing barangay.
Tinabangay site and Alaska at Barangay Mambaling are both under lock and key. Tinabangay was blocked on April 23, while Alaska was blocked on May 7. Mambaling has approximately 32,000 residents.
Cebu City Jail is also a facility that has a congestion rate of around 1,000%.
Aside from this, these barangays experience frequent water shortages, especially in summer, avoiding the frequent hand washing that health authorities require to contain the outbreak. (READ: Cebu’s water crisis threatens coronavirus prevention, says WHO)
More locks: An area called “Negativa” at Sitio Bagumbayan in Barangay Carreta, another poor urban neighborhood on General Maxilom Avenue, will also be locked up, Mayor Edgar Labella said Sunday, May 11.
The closure means that no one will be allowed to enter and leave their homes, mass testing will be done through polymerase chain reaction (PCR) swabs, and those that test positive will be placed in isolation.
Mass testing until May 21: The cities of Cebu, Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu began their selective mass testing through random sampling on Wednesday, May 6. It was supposed to have started earlier, but was delayed due to barangay concerns about the test’s implementation.
Bernadas said during an online news conference on Monday that they intended to complete the tests by May 21, from an original target of May 15, when the enhanced community quarantine expires.
The mayors of the 3 cities said at a press conference on May 9 that they intended to evaluate an additional 40,000 homes.
Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center, which tests all Visayas, can perform around 1,000 PCR tests per day. The Health Department is trying to increase that to 3,000 tests a day before the end of May.
Other interesting notes: Most of the cases that yielded a large number of positive results are concentrated in the lowland barangays, which occupy about a quarter of the land of Cebu City, but where most economic, industrial and economic activities take place. commercial. It is also where the majority of Cebu City’s million people live.
Upper Bacayan is the first mountain barangay with more than 40 positive results. It is also the first area that is neither high density nor poor urban. According to Bernadas, the 40 positive results were found through contact tracing.
While he did not give a specific number of how many total tests were performed in Bacayan, he said there were more “negative” than positive results.
Those who tested positive will be isolated until they pass the confirmation swab tests.
Check the red dots on the map to see the total number of cases per barangay in Cebu City.
(Note: the dots represent only the total number of cases per barangay and not the exact location of confirmed cases).
– with reports from Akira Medina /Rappler.com
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