Iloilo raises alarm on surge in Covid cases

ILOILO CITY — The city and provincial health office here has cautioned the public to remain vigilant amid the sudden uptick in Covid-19 cases.

The City Health Office (CHO) reported a moderate risk classification for Covid-19 due to a two-week growth rate of 325 percent.

The city has documented 17 cases from May 14 to 27 compared to four cases reported from April 30 to May 13.

The CHO added that the average daily attack rate also surged to 0.26 percent from May 14 to 17, up from 0.06 percent from April 30 to May 13.

The health care utilization rate also rose to 21.62 percent on May 27, up from 16.16 percent on May 23.

"We are closely monitoring the cases because of the spike in Covid-19 infections in other countries like Singapore due to the FLiRT variant," said Assistant City Health Officer Dr. Roland Jay Fortuna.

The city has logged a total of 98 cases from January 1 to May 27.

Citing clinical studies, Fortuna said the new Covid-19 subvariant is highly transmissible.

He added that although it has been suggested that the symptoms of the virus are not severe, one can still get infected despite being vaccinated.

"We must stay vigilant and not become complacent, even among those who have been vaccinated, and especially those with a history of comorbidities and those who are not vaccinated," the CHO official said.

Meanwhile, the Iloilo Provincial Health Office (IPHO) has urged the public to observe minimum health standard protocols despite registering a negative growth rate.

"Younger individuals may experience long-term Covid complications. Despite mild cases, we should continue to follow past practices," said IPHO chief Dr. Maria Socorro Colmenares-Quiñon.

The province logged a -25 percent two-week growth rate due to the four new cases in the last three to four weeks and three in the last one to two weeks.

The health care utilization rate of the province currently stands at 25.88 percent.

As of May 20, the province has a total of 295 cases of Covid-19.

Latest data from the Department of Health showed that the Western Visayas region has recorded 618 cases since the beginning of the year.

Of the total cases, 366 have already recovered, 226 are active cases, and 20 have died due to Covid-19 complications.

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