Negros Oriental Assistant Provincial Health Officer Dr. Liland Estacion. (PNA file photo courtesy of Capitol PIO)
DUMAGUETE CITY – A key health official in Negros Oriental appealed on Friday to the people to stay home as coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases surged anew, with 108 new positive infections reported.
The new cases brought the total number of active infections to 417 as of Friday, said Assistant Provincial Health Officer Dr. Liland Estacion, Covid-19 incident commander of the province’s Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID), in a virtual press briefing.
The 108 new infections are based on results released by the Negros Oriental Provincial Molecular Laboratory (NOPHML) for May 4 and 5, Estacion said.
The results for May 6 are still being consolidated, she added.
Estacion described the spike in cases as “alarming”, even as 61 new recoveries were also reported.
"Please, please, I beg of you. Stay at home as much as possible. And always observe basic health protocols because the surge is real," she said in mixed English and Cebuano dialect.
Estacion added that the bed capacity for Covid-19 in hospitals here is nearing full occupancy: Negros Oriental Provincial Hospital, full; Silliman University Medical Center, 78 percent; Holy Child Hospital, 70 percent; Ace Dumaguete Doctors Hospital, 86 percent; and Negros Polymedic Hospital, 41 percent.
As of Friday, the total caseload of Negros Oriental is 2,712 broken down into 2,223 recoveries; 417 active positive cases, and 72 mortalities, she said.
The Covid-19 incident commander warned people against large crowd gatherings, especially during Mother’s Day celebration on Sunday, saying if the families can just celebrate at home to avoid the spread of the contagion.
On that same day, a blackout is scheduled from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. in many towns and cities under the coverage of the Negros Oriental Electric Cooperative II, and authorities are once more anticipating people flocking to the beaches, mountains, or cooler places.
Because of the spike in cases, Estacion said there is a need to revisit quarantine restrictions as she agreed to the reimposition of stricter measures to stem the spread of the virus. (PNA)
