- MITCH LIPA
The Bacolod Emergency Operations Center has raised an alarm over the 21 Covid deaths logged in the first 23 days of April, and the 1,039 new cases recorded.
Dr. Chris Sorongon, EOC deputy for medical data analysis, said the latest Covid deaths were mostly with comorbidities and other complicated illnesses.
Sorongon explained that some close contacts of confirmed cases were tested before the virus mutated, so the late symptoms made it difficult for them to recover, particularly if they have other health issues.
The average daily positive case was at 43.4 percent this month, and Sorongon said this is a triple jump from the daily average case of 8.7 percent only in March. He added the average case logged in Bacolod was similar in August 2020 during the peak of the first wave of Covid infections.
In January this year, Bacolod had a daily average positive case of 4 percent, and even decreased to 2 percent in February.
On April 24, Bacolod recorded 101 new cases, one of the highest since last year. Sorongon added that more than 90 percent of these cases are local transmissions per group of persons.
That is the reason why Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia asked permission from the National Inter-Agency Task Force to utilize the whole 3,000 doses to vaccinate senior citizens or those belonging to A2 and A3 categories in the priority list in the vaccine rollout, instead of keeping half in reserve for the second dose.
Sorongon said the supply will be replenished with more vaccines expected to arrive in Bacolod before the scheduled second jab after 28 days. The EOC believes the elderly are the most vulnerable, particularly during this time when community transmission has been increasing, he added.
On Friday, 407 senior citizens received their first shot of Sinovac vaccines, with 197 at the Bacolod Government Center lobby, and 210 in four barangay-based vaccination centers.
Sorongon added that the 64-room midway referral facility of the city in Barangay Alijis is already operational, as of April 24.
The facility will accommodate positive patients, who were confined in hospitals because of severe symptoms and discharged, but are required to be isolated for a number of days before they can be sent home.— MML
