CAGAYAN DE ORO (MindaNews / 03 October) — For every case of COVID-19 here, the infection will spread to at least two more persons but “we even have cases that onresident was able to infect eight more residents,” a health official said.
Dr. Gina Itchon, chief of the Research and Development department at the Northern Mindanao Medical Center (NMMC) revealed this data Friday as Cagayan de Oro reeled from double-digit COVID-19 cases this week.
The City Health Office (CHO) reported 23 cases of COVID-19 and two deaths on Friday.
Residents wear face shields over their masks in Cagayan de Oro City MindaNews file photo by FROILAN GALLARDO
Last Wednesday, the CHO registered 62 cases, 42 of them policemen from two precincts in Cogon public market and Barangay Puntod.
On Tuesday, the CHO registered 48 COVID-19 cases across the city.
The biggest increase was last Monday when the cumulative cases over the weekend reached 92 cases.
City Heath Officer Dr. Lorraine Nery said four deaths were reported from Saturday, September 26 to Friday, October 2.
Dr. Adriano Suba-an, regional director of the Department of Health in Northern Mindanao urged the city government here to build more isolation facilities and do more contact tracing.
Cagayan de Oro City recorded the highest number of COVID-19 cases in Northern Mindanao as of October 2, with 820 out of 2,959, according to the DOH-Center for Health Development.
“Take note that the figures spiked from August to end of September,” Itchon said, adding that from 35 admissions in August and 151 September at the NMMC, the main referral hospital for the highly contagious disease in Northern Mindanao.
Most of the patients in the NMMC are residents of Cagayan de Oro.
Itchon said the situation may worsen if residents continue to disregard health protocols like wearing of masks and social distancing.
The CHO blamed the increase in infections on workers who return to their homes without disinfection.
“We are not sure if the infections will stop. We are hoping kay otherwise mangamatay jud ta tanan” (we will all die), Itchon said.
The city government is implementing a mandatory wearing of facemasks and social distancing, imposing 2,000 peso fine for violators.
The DOH-CHD regional records show that Cagayan de Oro City had only148 COVID-19 cases as of July 31; rising to 291 by August 31 and 752 as of September 30.
In August, according to the DOH-CHD data, there were only 65 local cases and 226 locally stranded individuals and returning overseas Filipinos (LSIs/ROFs). But in September, there were more local cases than LSIs/ROFs. As of September 30, there were 427 local cases and 325 LSIs/ROFs.
As of 3 p.m. on October 2, DOH-CHD said Cagayan de Oro recorded 820 cases, broken down into 490 local cases and 330 LSIs/ROFs. (Froilan Gallardo / MindaNews)
