- CHERYL G. CRUZ
The Emergency Operations Center-Task Force (EOC-TF) sounded the alarm yesterday after 122 COVID-related deaths were logged from Sept. 1-28.
City Administrator Em Legaspi-Ang, concurrent EOC executive director and COVID-19 Vaccination Council coordinator, said the rate of infections for the month also continues to rise.
Ang said EOC data show that COVID deaths hit 122 as against 76 for the whole month of September 2020.
“Our number of deaths, as of Sept. 28, almost doubled and we are averaging 109 infections daily. Our health frontliners are pointing out that those experiencing severe COVID cases in hospitals are unvaccinated,” she added in a press release from the city.
Ang said the recent, sudden spike in COVID-19 cases has put the focus back on prevention. A major worry right now is Delta, a highly contagious SARS-CoV-2 virus strain, she added.
“This continued rise in cases is happening despite our round-the-clock efforts to give COVID jabs. The highest spread of cases and severe outcomes are happening in places with low vaccination rates, and virtually all hospitalizations and deaths have been among the unvaccinated,” CHO officer-in-charge, Dr. Edwin Miraflor Jr., said.
Dr. Rosalie Deocampo, EOC deputy for contact-tracing cluster, said that on Sept. 25, Bacolod had 140 infections, 90 of which were household transmissions, while 36 cases were of unknown origin.
She said 75 were classified as new cases, while 65 were close contacts. Six were infected at their workplace, seven from gatherings or meetings outside their household, and one prison infection.
On Sept. 26, the city logged 133 cases, 69 of which were new infections and 64 were close contacts, Deocampo added.
Of the 133, some 92 cases were household infections, 41 were outside transmissions, three from the workplace, 36 were not known, and two from hospital infections.
On Sept. 27, Deocampo said there were 151 cases, of which 60 were new infections, while 91 were close contacts.
“COVID spreads right in our own homes,” Deocampo said, pointing out that on Sept. 27, about 110 were household transmissions, 41 originated from outside, 27 were not known, two from workplace, three from gatherings or meetings, four from hospital, one from dialysis center, and three from prison.
Another area of concern raised by Ang is the upcoming face-to-face classes.
The EOC and the Bacolod CoVaC, in coordination with the Department of Education’s City Schools Division, headed by Gladys Amelaine Sales, made an effort to give jabs to over 700 unvaccinated teachers two Saturdays ago.
To EOC and CoVaC’s dismay, Ang said only 45 showed up for inoculation. “Our concern now is the schoolchildren who are unprotected as we cannot yet administer COVID jabs for them,” she added. — CGC
