By Joseph B.A. Marzan
After weeks of reaching record-high numbers of new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases daily, Western Visayas managed to bring the number to 59 new cases on Monday, based on the latest case bulletin by the Department of Health-Western Visayas Center for Health Development (DOH-WV CHD).
But the good news emerged amid the grim report of the Philippines notching 1,006,428 cumulative COVID-19 cases, according to data from the DOH central office.
The latest batch in Region 6 consists of mainly local cases, with only 1 new case of a Locally-Stranded Individual (LSI) from Iloilo City.
Negros Occidental, which recorded the most number of cases in April, still recorded the highest new cases, but only with 21.
This is followed by Bacolod City (18), Iloilo province (12), Iloilo City (4), Aklan (2), and Antique and Capiz (1 each).
The number of active COVID-19 cases also went down on April 26, sitting at 4,320 after recording at 4,991 just a day before.
The daily average of cases as of April 25, 2021, according to Dr. Marie Jocelyn Te, Medical Officer IV of the DOH-WV CHD, is at 262 cases per day, currently the region’s highest daily COVID-19 reporting average.
The region also reported 729 recoveries and 1 new death on April 26, bringing the totals to 28,961 recoveries and 866 deaths.
The DOH-WV CHD on Monday continued to recommend several measures to manage COVID-19 in the region, as stated by Te in the online series Isyung Bakuna:
– Localized lockdowns;
– Improve contact tracing efficiency;
– Cases should be detected and isolated within 24 hours from symptom onset or isolated on day of testing;
– Reduce cases and close contacts at home;
– Decongest hospitals by transferring asymptomatic and mild cases to Temporary Treatment and Monitoring Facilities (TTMFs), with triage and referral systems in place at local government units (LGUs);
– Immediate referral and transfer of cases with co-morbidities or with moderate disease to a hospital;
– Augmentation of disease surveillance and contact tracing staff who shall conduct active case finding and contact tracing; and
– Increase dedicated beds for COVID-19.
VACCINATION IN WV
Te also reported on the status of COVID-19 vaccinations of medical frontliners in the region, where 57,019 (who are part of priority group A1) have received their first dose as of 8 p.m. of April 25.
This accounts for 45.29 percent of 125,906 medical frontliners who are part of the regional office’s masterlist of eligible A1 recipients.
The masterlisting of A1 recipients also continued, with the DOH now listing 129,974 from hospitals, infirmaries, TTMFs, provincial health offices, rural health units, barangay health workers, barangay health emergency response team workers, standalone health facilities, and national government agencies.
Out of that number, 16,376 or 34.89 percent of the total masterlisted number have already received their second dose.
As of this writing, only those who have received their first dose of Coronavac, made by Chinese biotech company Sinovac, are eligible for the second dose.
