By Joseph B.A. Marzan
The weekend of April 10-11, 2021 saw the greatest number of new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in Region 6 since the pandemic broke out a year ago.
The Department of Health-Western Visayas Center for Health Development (DOH-WV CHD) listed 681 new cases over the weekend, with 419 reported on April 10, and 262 new cases reported on April 11.
The total number of COVID-19 cases in the region is now at 29,833, a 6.4 percent spike from 28,040 on April 4, greater than the 3.29 percent increase between March 28 and April 4.
Negros Occidental recorded the most number of cases over the weekend, with 419, followed by Antique (75), Bacolod City (65), Iloilo province (45), Aklan (34), Iloilo City (27), Capiz (15), and Guimaras (1).
The 419 new cases on Saturday included 267 from Negros Occidental, 48 from Antique, 40 in Bacolod City, 27 in Iloilo province, 19 in Aklan, 13 in Iloilo City, 4 in Capiz, and 1 in Guimaras.
The 262 new cases on Sunday included 152 cases from Negros Occidental, 27 in Antique, 25 in Bacolod City, 18 in Iloilo province, 15 in Aklan, 14 in Iloilo City, and 11 in Capiz.
The new cases from Negros Occidental was comprised of 411 local cases, 5 locally-stranded individuals, 1 returning overseas Filipino, and 1 Authorized Person Outside of their Residence.
The numbers prompted Negros Occidental’s provincial government to request the national Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID) to escalate its quarantine level from Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ) to a stricter GCQ.
Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas had also issued a statement on Saturday saying he and Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor Jr. had already been discussing the status of travel between Iloilo and Negros Island.
In an interview with Aksyon Radyo Iloilo on Saturday, DOH-WV CHD Infectious Diseases Cluster Head Dr. Mary Jane Juanico confirmed that the April 10 report was the highest listing of new cases in the region since the pandemic spread here.
The first COVID-19 case in the region was confirmed on March 20, 2020, a 56-year-old male from Bacolod City who had travel history to the United Kingdom and Metro Manila.
As to the number of cases in Negros Occidental, Juanico cited San Carlos City as the local government unit (LGU) with the highest number of active cases as of April 9 with 197, followed by Cadiz City with 158, Bago City (53), La Carlota City (48), Kabankalan City (44), Silay City (43), Sagay City and Murcia (42 each), and Binalbagan and Ilog (39 each).
Juanico said a possible factor in the surge is that San Carlos City was an entry point for vessels from Cebu City where cases are also spiraling.
She also estimated that based on the numbers, there may be around 1,000 to 1,500 close contacts to be traced and undergo facility-based quarantine.
The cases spiked despite a prohibition on travel to the entire Western Visayas region from Cebu since April 4.
The National Task Force on COVID-19 (NTF COVID-19) on April 11 granted the request of Western Visayas leaders to extend the travel ban from April 13 to 19.
Citing information they received, Juanico said most of the cases, not only in Negros Occidental but also in other parts of the region, was due to cockfighting or “bulang” activities.
In the past days, rising numbers of cases in Antique were attributed to cockfighting activities in the capital town of San Jose de Buenavista.
“I think one of the facts here is San Carlos City being an entry point of vessels coming in from Cebu City, going to other parts of Negros Occidental and Western Visayas. So far, from the information we’ve received, [the surge] came from ‘bulang’,” Juanico said.
As to Negros Occidental’s GCQ request, she said that the DOH-WV CHD was also reviewing the data cited as basis for the said request.
“[The GCQ request] was upon request by the [LGU] and was even supported by the LGU mayors. I think they also understand the other side of their GCQ decision, that while they wish to contain COVID-19 cases, there is also a probability that their economy may be affected. I think they have balanced it,” she said.
Despite the rise in cases, Juanico said the DOH-WV CHD did not see any need to escalate the quarantine status of the whole region to a stricter level.
She cited the Healthcare Utilization Rate (HCUR) in the region being at “Low Risk” status in all areas except for Antique.
The HCUR refers to the rate of utilization of COVID ward and intensive care beds and mechanical in healthcare facilities.
It is one of the indicators for the DOH to recommend a rise or fall in the quarantine status of an area, depending on its figures.
“For now, we have not seen a great rise here in the Panay and Guimaras Area. The [HCUR], which is our indicator to escalate to a higher community quarantine, are currently at “Low Risk” except for Antique, but we have also been seeing their rate go down as well,” she said.
Juanico reiterated the need for LGUs to implement the national government’s Prevent-Detect-Isolate-Treat-Recover (PDITR) strategy.