MAJORITY of the 134 confirmed Covid-19 logged in Cagayan de Oro City for the Oct. 17 to 23 period was mild, with 17 of them being asymptomatic and seven being moderate with no severe cases, the City Health Office (CHO) reported yesterday.
Still, CHO resident epidemiologist Dr. Teodulfo Joselito Retuya reminded Kagay-anons to get fully vaccinated and practice minimum public health standards to prevent another surge of cases heading to the long holiday break.
“The advantage here is that the 110 who did test positive were fully vaccinated,” Dr. Retuya said during Monday morning’s Covid-19 response press briefing.
Dr. Retuya said the 17 who were asymptomatic only underwent testing due to their job requirements or after sensing some symptoms. About seven experienced moderate symptoms while the majority of the 134 were aged 18 to 49 years old, Dr. Retuya said.
“They were either health workers or authorized persons outside residence who attended gatherings,” he said.
CHO data showed that Cagayan de Oro City logged 15 new cases and 119 active cases as of 10 pm on Oct. 24. Of the 119 active cases, about 47 are confined in the city’s public and private hospitals while 72 are confined in the city’s isolation facilities.
From single daily digit cases during the Sept. 4 to Sept. 10 period, the city’s cases steadily climbed back to double digits nearly a month after, during the Oct. 16 to Oct. 22 period at 17 cases daily and 119 cases for the week, Dr. Retuya said. Most of the 134 cases were female or 64 percent with males at 37 percent, he said.
“Out of the 134 active cases about 106 completed their primary two doses or 79 percent while 84 received their first booster dose or 74 percent. Only 28 received their first dose while 62 were fully boosted,” Dr. Retuya said.
Despite these numbers, Dr. Retuya warned that there is a greater risk of contracting the virus due to the city’s Level 1 status which removed nearly all restrictions to public movement.
“About 29 percent of them are health workers who got reinfected (due to super spreader events)…our data showed there’s a spike and heading to a long weekend, the chances of exposure will be greater,” said Dr. Retuya in reference to the Oct. 31 holiday on Monday followed by the All Saints Day and All Souls Day observance on Tuesday and Wednesday.
City Hall issued reminders to the public to comply with minimum public health standards during these days with visiting hours at public and private cemeteries confined to 6 am to 10 pm. (Stephen Capillas of City Information Office)