OCTA: Cebu, Metro Cebu still low risk for COVID-19, all indicators ‘favorable’

All COVID-19 indicators in Cebu and Metro Cebu (Cebu City, Mandaue City, and Lapu-Lapu City) were “favorable” as the province remained low risk for the viral disease, independent monitoring group OCTA Research said Wednesday.

OCTA Research fellow Dr. Guido David said that the seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases in the province has plateaued to baseline levels of 40 per day. Their new infections peaked at over 200 per day on July 31.

This level of cases was considered “very low” based on an average daily attack rate (ADAR) of 0.77 or less than 1 per day per 100,000 population, as of Tuesday, September 27.

ADAR pertains to the incidence showing the average number of new cases in a period per 100,000 people.

David said the plateauing of new COVID-19 cases in Cebu was reflected by a reproduction number of 0.99.

Reproduction rate refers to the number of people infected by one case. A reproduction number that is below 1 indicates that the transmission of the virus is slowing down.

Meanwhile, the positivity rate in the whole of Cebu on September 26 was at 5%, based on an average of over 700 tests conducted per day.

Positivity rate refers to the percentage of people who were found positive for COVID-19 among the total number of individuals tested.

“The low positivity rate confirms that infections have decreased to low levels in Cebu,” David said.

The healthcare utilization for COVID-19 in Cebu and Metro Cebu, on the other hand, also remained low at 27%, while their intensive care unit (ICU) occupancy was at 12% as of September 26.

On August 31, Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama signed an executive order lifting the mandatory face mask policy in outdoor and open spaces amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Days later, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. signed an executive order allowing the optional masking in open spaces and non-crowded outdoor areas with good ventilation, as announced by Malacañang on September 12.—AOL, GMA News