Cebu City mayor tells residents: Stay vigilant amid flattened COVID curve

Cebu City mayor Edgar Labella on Wednesday urged residents to remain vigilant as the COVID-19 curve in the area flattened, and patient beds' occupancy rate at hospitals dropped.

“Eventually, it paid off talaga kasi nalalaman na namin nasaan na 'yung mga virus. So nag-flatten na 'yung curve, awa ng Diyos,” Labella said in an interview on Dobol B sa News TV.

“Maski maganda ang takbo, let us not be complacent. We should take this as a challenge for all of us to do better, to be more circumspect, to be more vigilant, and to be more careful,” he added.

Even with the transition to a more relaxed general community quarantine, Labella said the city still required quarantine passes  for their residents to control their movement.

“It is still quarantine regardless of the classification,” he pointed out.

From around 80 percent, Labella said the occupancy rate for COVID-19  isolation beds is now at 23 percent. It means 77 percent of the hospital beds dedicated to coronavirus patients are vacant.

As of Tuesday, the Department of Health (DOH) reported 35 percent occupancy rate for isolation beds and 31 percent for intensive care unit beds in Central Visayas.

On Tuesday, DOH said 42 new cases were reported in Central Visayas.

Cebu started establishing isolation facilities as early as March, which resulted in more available facilities for COVID-19 patients in hospitals, according to the mayor.

Aside from these, Labella noted that the COVID-19 cases in the city have a recovery rate of 80.73 percent. Labella attributed the number to the medical interventions of health workers. —LBG, GMA News