CORTES, Bohol, Dec. 19 (PIA) -- Eighteen days into December, Bohol logged a decreasing trend in positive cases for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) while bracing for the festivities to peak on Christmas day, less than a week from now.
From 154 COVID-19 cases in Bohol at the start of December, the cases are now down to 30, according to the daily Covid Case Map shared by the Bohol Inter Agency task Force (BIATF) on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases on Dec. 18.
From 10 new cases on the first day of the month, the task force now sees only one new case which involved a returning Overseas Filipino Worker from Jagna town.
By then, there were 45 cases of local transmission, one that dropped to two cases on Dec. 18.
BIATF spokesperson Dr. Cesar Tomas Lopez also assured Boholanos that the two cases of local transmission are now in isolation and managed by their respective municipal health authorities.
Since then, some 159 Boholanos who used to be afflicted with the highly contagious disease have recovered, bringing the number of recoveries to 740 by Dec. 18.
From Dec. 1, one case of COVID-19 casualty has been added, bringing the total number of local deaths at 16.
This, too, as some Local Government Units (LGUs) in Bohol obtained clearances from the Regional IATF to temporarily suspend their acceptance of locally stranded individuals (LSI), returning OFWs, and Authorized Persons Outside Residences (APOR) to allow their local teams to recuperate and join the festivities while they could make repairs in their isolation facilities.
In line with this, the government through the Department of Health (DOH) has also advised people against joining parties or going to places where there are high probabilities of convergence of crowds where social distancing could not be followed.
Videokes, as long as they are done with members of the same household, is fine but should not be done with other people from outside the household.
Health experts said that the spread of the virus goes exponentially high with one singing a song, shouting or sharing equipment like microphones.
The DOH has been reportedly bracing for a potential spike in cases after the Christmas season with parties, shopping, and merrymaking being pointed to as potential virus super spreaders.
A spike in COVID-19 cases can again swamp the country’s health system amid the limited hospital facilities that can manage this infectious disease. (rahchiu/PIA-7/Bohol)
Source: Philippines Information Agency (pia.gov.ph)
0 Comments