QC's average daily COVID cases cut by more than half in 3 weeks —official

A research group has monitored decline in Quezon City's average daily cases of COVID-19 in three consecutive weeks, an official said Thursday.

Interviewed on GMA Network’s Unang Hirit, Assistant City Administrator for Operations Alberto Kimpo attributed the decline to improved interventions against the spread of coronavirus. 

“Natutuwa naman kami sa naging resulta na nagtatatlong linggo na ho tayong bumababa, 'yung new cases na nakikita,” Kimpo said.

Citing a report of UP-OCTA Research, the QC government said in a statement on Wednesday that the average daily cases in the city dropped from 540 in the August 10-16 period to 456 in the August 17-23 time span. 

From 456, the average daily new cases again declined to 372 between August 24 to 30, and further dropped to 205 in the August 31-September 6 period.

“This is a most welcome development. This means that the collective actions of the city government, private sector, and residents to control the virus are working,” Mayor Joy Belmonte said.

According to Kimpo, the COVID-19 testing of QC residents has improved by 600 percent compared to their initial response at the start of the pandemic.

Kimpo also attributed the positive development to the implementation of localized lockdowns in around 50 areas of special concern, as well as to the isolation and treatment of COVID-19 cases.

The QC government said the OCTA Research recommended to further improve its collaboration with the Department of Health, particularly with its One Hospital referral system.

Aside from this, the research team suggested augmenting testing efforts, enhancing contact tracing within 24 hours, and increasing the number of quarantine facilities and bed capacity in hospitals.

“We are grateful for the data analytics and recommendations of OCTA Research, and we will incorporate their suggestions into our strategies and action plans,” Belmonte said.

As of Wednesday, QC Epidemiology and Disease Surveillance Unit has confirmed a total of 13,927 cases in the city, with 10,482 recoveries and 452 fatalities. —LBG, GMA News