THE positivity rate in Cebu City has been a curious case in the past four days: it goes down to single digits in one day, then it goes up to double digits the next day.
Cebu City Emergency Operations Center (EOC) reported a 7.84 percent positivity rate on Thursday, February 17, 2022, a decline from the 10.64 percent positivity rate posted on Wednesday, February 16.
The EOC reported a sharp decline of the positivity rate -- 6.55 percent positivity rate -- on Tuesday, February 15, after logging 10.35 percent positivity rate on Monday, February 14.
The week started with a single-digit positivity rate of 8.58 percent on Sunday, February 13.
The World Health Organization said having a positivity rate of less than five percent for the last two weeks is one of the indicators that the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) infection is under control.
Positivity rate is the percentage of people who test positive for the virus of those overall who have been tested.
'Declining pattern'
Despite the up-and-down pattern of positivity rate in the past four days, Cebu City Councilor Joel Garganera said the EOC's data "has been consistent in showing a declining pattern of newly reported confirmed Covid-19 cases."
The positivity rate on Thursday came from 41 of 523 individuals whose test results came out positive for Covid-19.
Active cases on Thursday stood at 1,528, a decline from 1,609 active cases recorded last Wednesday, February 16.
The EOC reported 218 recoveries, bringing the total number of recoveries since the pandemic began in March 2020 to 51,096.
Seven new deaths were reported by the EOC on Thursday, bringing the total number of fatalities this month to 43. Since the pandemic hit Cebu City, the EOC has recorded a total of 1,657 deaths.
Safe zone
The critical occupancy rate in four public and 11 private hospitals in Cebu City was still in the safe zone on Thursday at 36.18 percent or 140 of 387 beds allocated for Covid-19 patients were occupied.
Garganera, the EOC deputy chief implementer, said the single-digit positivity rate on Thursday "speak of uncongested hospital covid census, less residents in our Covid isolation facilities, decreasing list of patients to be monitored by our Bherts (Barangay Health Emergency Response Teams) in the community."
"Overall, gone are the sleepless nights, unending telephone calls, and others. Though the daily positivity rate is still above the acceptable threshold, we are positive and confident to see it goes down in the coming days if and only if the Cebuano constituents are in one and in par with us in our goal of shifting the lever from pandemic to endemic. We continue to be vigilant and to practice the minimum health standards. Get vaccinated," Garganera said. (KAL)
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First published by SunStar Cebu:
https://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/1921335/cebu/local-news/cebu-citys-daily-positivity-rate-drops-to-single-digit-again-on-february-17
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